Generosity. Hospitality. Loyalty. Laughter. Adventure.

Generosity. Hospitality. Loyalty. Laughter. Adventure.

These are just some of the things my father and my mother embody. I remember growing up and seeing my parents generously give of their hours, their home, their finances, and their hearts to those around them.

I don’t remember a Thanksgiving or a Christmas growing up without a friend who didn’t have family in town, didn’t have family left or couldn’t make it out to visit their family. You see, we lived thousands of miles away from our family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and so on. It could’ve been a moment for my parents to sulk, to keep to themselves, but they generously gave. My mom would generously cook, my dad generously entertained the dinner guests through his outlandish pranks and humor, and we would have Thanksgiving, and each person at Christmas did not go without a gift. Generosity. Hospitality. Loyalty. Laughter and Adventure.

My parents hosted out of town guests, or even in town guests when need be. There was never a moment that the door would be shut to a friend. The incredible hospitality and loyalty to dear friends was a sight to behold. Each friend that came through had either known my parents in one way or the other, or knew them through a friend, and yet my parents opened up their home and their hearts with hospitality. Each guest never left in want, nor without having laughed. The way my parents made each guest laugh – whether through joking, reminiscing of the past, or my dad pulling a prank of them and it leaving us all in fits of laughter – was incredible. Generosity. Hospitality. Loyalty. Laughter and Adventure.

Adventure. It was something that started at the beginning of their marriage. Scheduled wedding date was July 4th (my mom loves all things Americana), but why not move it to December 24th(what’s a couple months of planning? Only the world!!). They moved from a house in Louisiana to a trailer in Louisiana – why not? When they had two children, lived close to family they decided to take a God-adventure and step out in faith and move to Washington State. Soccer, Basketball, Unicycling, Fishing, Capture the Flag, Camping, Nation-wide road trips were all the normal routine of the LeFors household. Maybe I can attribute it to my dad’s inability to sit still, or my mom’s love of trying new things with an open attitude, or both of them just wanting to have fun, either way I feel like adventure is something they never lived without. Generosity. Hospitality. Loyalty. Laughter and Adventure.

In talking to my sister by the pool on vacation – I was telling her how much I have seen my parents’ influence on our lives, now that we are all grown up and out of the house. My brother was incredibly generous and prepared when I flew in, welcoming me with great hospitality. My sister bought the family a new kind of candy to try (something my mom would ALWAYS do on vacation). My brother made my sister and I try riding a tandem bike. We were buying each others meals and such. I am not sure when it became apparent during this week but it was striking when I did notice it. The rich heritage of generosity, hospitality, loyalty, laughter and adventure is woven into the tapestries of our individual and collective stories, and I am incredibly richer for it.