Since Adam and I are such homebodies, I tend to worry that we're not doing enough to make lasting childhood memories for the kids. I look at our typical activities and fear that when they grow up, they won't have much that stands out as noteworthy. At minimum, I hope they'll have an overall impression of a happy childhood, but that's not really the same as making memories. In my (occasionally irrational) mind at least.
Our weekends are typically pretty boring. Grocery shopping and running errands (which the boys generally hate), playing around the house. We don't get out much. They don't even really have many play dates with friends (which prompts a whole other neglectful mother guilt trip). I can't help but think, what is there worth remembering from any of that?
What prompted these thoughts for me was the opportunity we had to take Aidan and Logan with us to the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game last month. Adam and I got tickets through my work, and when two free tickets became available, I jumped at the chance for the boys to go because I thought they would have a blast, and things like this are a rare occurrence for them. This was noteworthy, I thought. And they did have a great time.
The Canes actually won (they haven't been all that great lately) and with every goal scored, the crowed jumped up and cheered, and I high-fived the boys. Every time we were prompted to chant, Logan screamed loudly and I chanted with him because I was so excited they were so into it. Turns out, Aidan knows a lot about hockey from a book he read, so I would sometimes lean over and ask him what was going on. Fun times, for sure.
Then we told them that Adam was taking them to Monster Jam in April, which they were super duper excited about. The tickets were more expensive than we thought they'd be, but because this was going to be one of those experiences, we pulled the trigger.
As we were discussing when in April Monster Jam was, we got on the subject of April Fools day. Aidan and Logan both laughed and asked if I remembered when I fooled them with jello instead of juice in their cups.
At that point, I stopped worrying so much about not having all these big events to build memories on. I realized that the little things count just as much, and we're already doing them to some extent. I think that's why I've been enjoying doing my weekly photo recaps. It's those little things that might go otherwise unnoticed that are worth remembering.
Will they look back and remember goofing around with Lorelai in World Market, or the Easter egg treasure hunt, or the impromptu stop at Starbucks for hot chocolate, or the balloon animals they got at Moe's on kids night? Will it be just as notable a memory as Monster Jam, hockey games, or summer beach vacations? I hope so. I think so.
LOVE this post. :-)
ReplyDelete