What does Legacy Mean?

As I began to think about this blog post, I became a bit excited. I wanted to start with the notion of Legacy because I have had these thoughts going through my mind for quite some time. Just before I started, I Googled “Legacy” & “Legacy Planning”, and it all had to do with what and how someone leaves something to another when they are dead. I am not going to let this dampen or dismay me. My notion includes more than that.

My notions of legacy started literally in a vacuum. Or was I simply young? I grew up in a large family in the northeast, I was reasonably well educated, studied abroad and had some profound experiences; some were wonderful, some kicked me in the rear and others humbled me. After I got married, started this job, but before having children, I was acutely aware that I had not bonded with a place, institution or anything that grounded me. Then my girls were born, two years apart, and being as deep as a puddle, I did what I thought I should do… I took orders pretty well.

When my oldest was one year old, we were asked to join a place called Lakeview Club. This place has its roots in the settlement of Kansas as a free state, has a turn of the century Victorian lodge, acres of woodland and along an oxbow lake… I will write more on the history of this place later, but suffice it to say, in my opinion, that this place and area is worthy of protecting.

And therein lies the beginning of my roots taking place. My girls were raised at Lakeview, along with its traditions. Lakeview has this ability to draw you into a special relationship with it. In its quietness and settings, in this place that is out of step with our time. As I learned more about the history and got to know the families that represent multiple generations, I became aware of a distinct legacy that is still playing out. My family, being relative “newbies”, somehow was allowed to step in. Independent of us living folks, this place has a zeitgeist that exists, and if we can catch, it touches us.

One day I woke up and decided to start my journey to begin the process of preservation. In my bones and to this day, I feel my responsibility to the next generations, my girls. This was my first step to start understanding any notion of legacy.