Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means, we may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase something from a link we post (including links to amazon.com because we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.) Don’t worry, it won’t cost you anything.

Pin 120 Email 2K Shares

{2004} Ten years ago, I left my small Idaho town to enter the much larger fish bowl of university life. I was starting fresh, in a new state, with nothing but big dreams in my pocket. My $6 an hour dream job at the movie theatre gave me free popcorn, soda, and movies. How could life possibly get better? My most frustrating problems were waking up for a 7:30am class, paying my own cell phone bill, and getting to the slopes as often as I could so I could become a pro snowboarder.

{2009} Fast forward five years. I would have never predicted moving across country to a beautiful Florida city with a man I now called “husband,” where I would begin my new dream job as a high school teacher. We lived in a teeny, tiny house that smelled like a musty attic, while my snowboard gathered dust in the actual attic. Our family consisted of two: him and me. Like Ponce de Leon, of whom our new city heralded, we were explorers, far from home, discovering exactly who we were. I finally had life figured out.

{2014} However, five years later, I’m still “figuring life out.” As of today, our family can now fill an SUV and form our own basketball team. Teaching has taken a back seat to full-time mommy-hood, and writing—a dormant passion—has blossomed into a new dream. I can count the number of times I wear makeup a week on…one finger {church day}. Three children have resided in my belly, which now sports an outie button where an innie used to be. {My 2004 self would be mortified!}

It is amazing how life can change.

On a day-to-day basis, life can seem mundane or redundant. The sun rises, we go to school or work, we dirty dishes, we clean dishes. There’s always laundry to wash, dinner to make, homework to do, then sleep, wake up, and do it all over again.

But when measured in bulk, we see how much actually changes in the course of, say five years. Shoe sizes expand, pants become high waters. Kids grow up and we sprout gray hairs. Dreams change, evolve, and life becomes different than anything we could have imagined.

The Greek philosoper Heraclitus said, “Everything flows, nothing stands still.” Despite our desire to pause time and keep each sweet moment within a pretty little snow globe, time will keep ticking.

That’s why you need a family time capsule. It is the most concrete, visual way to preserve time and, essentially, these lives we are living. For me, that is just as important as food storage or emergency preparedness.

Making a family time capsule is easy and can be done in an afternoon or for a special family night. Do it! In five years, you’ll be so glad you did.

Things you’ll need for your time capsule:

1. A Time Capsule Questionnaire: you can find many examples here, or make up your own. These questionnaires are so fun to do in 3-5 year increments to see how much changes. {I love that my son wants to be an ambulance driver!}

2. Kids’ Measurements: Especially if your children are still growing, it’s fun to take current measurements and compare them down the road.

3. Art work/ a project: Include the artwork or any special projects your kids have recently done. You’ll be amazed at the progress you see when you open your time capsule.

4. Letters to self or letters from parent to child: Write letters to your future self, including any messages you’d like to tell yourself, what you imagine life to be like five years in the future {flying cars?}, any secrets you have now, and the hopes you have for the future. If your children are young, write a letter to them including these same things.

5. Current pictures: of each child and of your entire family, even pets!

6. A vessel for your time capsule: I scored this cool old suitcase at a garage sale for $1. You could also use a clean paint can, a shoe box, a card box, or even an empty two-liter pop bottle.

We’re all in different stages of parenthood, from having little ones that cling to you like barnacles, to big ones that repel you like negative sides of a magnet. Maybe you’re at an in-between stage, or entering the grandparent phase. Regardless of where you’re at with child-rearing, each phase has its particular awesomeness that deserves to be preserved.

Feel free to share any bright ideas below!

Pin 120 Email 2K Shares