This past February, while sitting on the deck, my wife and I decided to plan a trip for the boys 11th birthday and when the question came up about money, I simply responded with “what is really important?” And that was the end of the discussion.

This past week, as we spent a few days in Cooperstown, NY at the Baseball Hall of Fame and then a few days in Goshen, NY at Lego Land, it hit me, this is what is important. And what is this, it is the need/desire to make as many life long memories as possible with and for my kids.

The reality is simple, life is short and we aren’t promised that tomorrow will come and there is an even shorter life expectancy for my wife, so I would rather make memories for the boys today, because that matters the most.

I’ve wrestled with the question of what is really important a lot lately. Is it more money? Is it more things? Or is it the quality of time that we get to spend with others? And that is where I’ve really netted out in this. For example, there isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I do not wish that I could not pick up the phone and call my grandfather. My parents are starting to both age more and really slow down. The reality is, I don’t have many years left with them.

And this past Saturday, after returning home from our trip, the boys and I went out for BBQ. The topics discussed were the normal of baseball to the stock market, then when I asked each what they enjoyed most, they just smiled and said making memories.

I hope that I am doing something right as a parent to get them to see this and more importantly, live it out long after I am gone.