All About the Experiences

It’s about the experiences, ya’ll!

In a couple of weeks, this little girl of ours is turning 18. As every parent knows, raising kids seems to go by in the blink of an eye. If there is anything we have learned, it is to spend as much time together as possible.

For this almost-18-year old, we gave her tickets to see one of her favorite artists, Zach Bryan, who happened to be performing only two weeks before her birthday. For us, we gave ourselves the gift of spending more time with this grown-up girl.

As we stood in the concert together, we belted out the lyrics to every song he played. I couldn’t help but see that sweet little toddler who would wiggle around on my lap while I sang her favorite lullaby. I remembered that feisty fifth grader singing to herself in the bathroom mirror in preparation for the upcoming talent show. I thought about all of the Monday nights she and I have spent together going to tumbling classes and she putting on her favorite playlist and singing all her favorite songs to me.

As she repeatedly thanked me and Brandon for taking her to this concert, we couldn’t help but feel a tug at our hearts that we are the ones who got to be there with her.

She won’t get the high-dollar sneakers she has obviously been hinting at recently. She won’t open any big gift that will later be tossed out or will need to be upgraded. When it comes to gift-giving we will gift experiences every single time. Because in the long run, what we are giving are memories each of us will remember for a lifetime.