“Mom’s Educational Vacations.” That’s the name my daughters gave to our summer jaunts when they were young. Rarely having a plan — we just started driving.

I’m a history buff and wished this for my offspring as well. Virginia and New England were prominent destinations, particularly when the girls were in middle school learning about our nation’s history. The two oldest graves in the Jamestown National Cemetery contain my (great X) grandparents.

Near Boston one year, while below deck during a tour of the Mayflower replica listening to the guide’s description of horrid living conditions, Mallory whispered that she was going to be ill and had to leave. I found her on the dock, looking quite pale. The reality of life in the 1600s had done her in.

Last week, I stopped by the Autrey Mill Nature Center. Board members and volunteers have finished constructing a 35 foot teepee and a mud-and-twig hut similar to those used by our Georgia ancestors in the 1700s — in which to reside. (Mallory, honey, you’d be out on the dock again.)

Seeing these “homes” makes you appreciate your current abode — a lot.

This Sunday (the 14th), from 2 until 5 p.m., the center celebrates its 20th birthday — you’re all invited. Bring your children and let them see the rudimentary living conditions of mud huts, teepees and, in later years, two-room tenant farm houses. Discuss with them the will to build and survive.

While you’re focused on the single-minded determination of generations of forbearers, think about this.

The center exists through the same steadfast determination of our ancestors. Very dedicated citizens have built, funded and run it for two decades without a guaranteed source of revenue from any entity. They depend mainly on donations and grants.

I checked on other similarly sized educational facilities around the country, public and private. Most have a fulltime staff of at least 5 people. Autrey Mill runs with 1 ½ staff members.

I’m so impressed that I’m doing something I’ve never done before. I own a loom. The Smithsonian lists it as an historic treasure. (How I got it is a long story.) It’s several centuries old and has never been on public display. I’m loaning it to the center for a few weeks as my birthday gift.

(Did you know that the concept for the first computer was based on the loom? You’ll have to visit the center to learn about that.)

Join the celebration of our heritage and those who seek to preserve it, before we lose it to “progress.”