Family, Sacrifice and Selflessness Are

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law moved out of their house in California and are now traveling the country in their 5th wheel. They pulled into Idaho last week and we've nearly spent all our time together playing games, watching movies, going on nature walks and hikes, floating the river, paddling pontoon boats, and fishing. 

Hike at Camelback Park (Left to right, back to front): Tom Curtis, Travis Curtis, Matthew Curtis, Marcelo Cacciagioni, Melissa Curtis, Alora Cacciagioni, Summer Cacciagioni, Ella Caccioagioni, and Lily Caccioagioni.

Matt at the pond with (left to right) Ella, Alora and Lilly feeding the ducks and geese.

Paddle boating in groups of 2-3. Travis and Tom Curtis.

Ella and Lily playing with Makayla's toys I've stored.

The very last night of our family's two-week stay, Matt is laying in the fort he made with his cousins reading them Dr. Suess books. Earlier, Travis and Matt had taken cousins to the community pool to swim and to go feed the ducks and geese. And even though our cousins are much younger and interested in very different things, any chance Matt and Travis had to exercise patience, respect, and kindness they did. Even at dinner when cousins were spitting paper straws at their faces or when cousins refused to respect personal spaces.

I have no idea how Matt and Travis interact with people outside of our nuclear family unless someone tells me, like the time I received a letter from a church leader about Matthew after a scouting event recently. The letter was a thank you note really. Matthew encouraged, reassured, and became a source of strength for a defeated scout struggling with the physical challenges of the High Adventure. I imagine the thank you came in part because the heavy backpack for their hike had to get up the mountain some way and Matt sacrificed and persevered carrying the extra weight so the leaders didn't have to. 

Hopefully, Matt wrote in his journal the rest of the story how the weight got to be too much, how he prayed and his faith brought relief almost immediately, and how the bishop happened to be driving up the mountain with just enough room in the bed of his truck for a couple of backpacks.  

We've defined our family core values and talk about them regularly, but to see them in action instead of just hearing from other people is like being able to pick and eat a ripe avocado off the tree you've been cultivating for years.

I overheard Travis on the phone with his friends making the tough decision to turn down a fun get together that evening. I could hear the disappointment in his voice and I know he didn't like saying "no" to what he knew for sure would be fun.

Balancing priorities isn't even on our list of family core values, but family and sacrifice and selflessness are. 

Our Family Values (est. 2015)

Honor
Respect
Service
Compassionate
Charity
Attitude
Knowledge
Accepting
Forgiving
Determined
Action
Sacrifice
Creative
Patient
Kindness
Accountability
Focused
Love
Self Mastery
+1
Humor
Nice
Leaders
Courage
Truth
Perseverance
Selfless
Disciplined
Family