How Do Children Spell LOVE?

Linda Kracht's recent visit to a resort owned by a famous family drove home a lesson about what children really need from their parents.

Recently, we traveled to the beautiful state of Vermont and spent a week at the Trapp Family Lodge nestled among rolling hills and nearby mountains and near Stowe, Vermont. Yes, the lodge still belongs to the very famous family portrayed in the Sound of Music. Maria fell in love with this beautiful little farm while touring northern Vermont with her family. The rather dilapidated farm had been listed for sale for five years without receiving any serious offers because of the economy, the run-down condition of the farm buildings and the tough terrain strewn with granite rocks and boulders.

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The von Trapp Family had signed a purchase agreement to buy a farm in southern Vermont; but, after seeing this farm and its beautiful panoramic views of rolling hills, mountain views (Mount Mansfield), and thick forests, Maria insisted they buy it. And so, they did. Sound of Music fans may recall the Mother Superior singing “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” Apparently she was quite a determined personality—hence the song and the purchase of the Stowe farm.

The lodge’s History Tour Guide along with Maria’s grandson Sam set the record straight about what was and wasn’t true about the von Trapp Family featured in The Sound of Music. What became very evident was the fact that the entire family worked extremely hard to re-establish their financial footing in America. They did that by touring all over the US and by building up the original music camp at the farm. Father Franz Mathias Wasner discovered the musical talent of the von Trapp Family. He was regarded as a true musical genius and talent that helped develop the von Trapp talent.

We were pleased to meet the Sam von Trapp, the grandson of Maria and Georg. Sam’s father is Johannes von Trapp, the youngest of the von Trapp children. Johannes is 87 years old and still lives on the property and normally visits the main lodge nearly every day when he is not traveling. Unfortunately, we did not see him. Johannes is the President of theVon Trapp enterprise and his two children, Sam and Christina, operate the day-to-day business of the Lodge, the beer gardens, etc. Nine of the von Trapp children (Georg had seven children with his first wife and three with Maria) are deceased.

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We were pleased to have the opportunity to ask Sam questions about his family experiences and his favorite memories of Maria. He described how he had broken his leg right at the start of summer break when he was quite young [8 or 9 years old]. The break confined him to the indoors for a significant part of the summer. Maria would come every day to read to him because she knew that he really missed playing outdoors. He seemed to treasure this memory. He also told us that his father always felt that Maria loved the stepchildren more than her own children—including Johannes. It seems that he was often left behind while the Trapp family went on the road to sing in various venues around the US.

This article is titled: "How do children spell LOVE?" Because, clearly, Johannes spelled L-O-V-E this way: "T-I-M-E." Regardless of the effort that parents put into their careers for the sake of the family, these efforts are often mis-interpreted by the little ones who feel left behind. Zig Zigler coined the phrase that Children spell love "TIME." Time that parents take to be present to their children is what really counts in the eyes, minds, and hearts of the children.

Sam felt loved when his grandmother took the time to read to him. Johannes felt less important and abandoned by the same woman who was obviously very busy trying to establish deep roots in America. Today, Johannes is obviously a very wealthy man, having inherited a portion of the family legacy and property. But the hole that seems to linger in his heart is the lack of time he had with his mother.

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Click to tweet:
Time that parents take to be present to their children is what really counts in the eyes, minds, and hearts of the children. #catholicmom

Children jealously guard their time with Mom and Dad and for many good reasons. They want their parents to know and understand them. They want to feel loved and cherished and blessed by their parents; they want to be accepted, heard, understood, and chosen by their parents. These desires of every young heart are fundamental needs that can only be filled by spending enough physical and quality time with our children and the people we love.

Stowe is a very small town (5200 population) in Vermont, and Maria and the Baron were obviously big celebrities. But they weren’t the only one. Another very special person was also from Stowe, Vermont, and he will be the subject of my next article. This man is currently up for canonization and for good reason. Bet you can’t guess who he is!

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