Makers of memories

Some time in the distant  future Sienna will be grown up and think back to being little. So many of these days seem ordinary- sitting on the floor playing, grocery shopping, park dates and long walks. But somehow they all weave into something that lasts forever; something she will look back on, something that will be so many parts of her future- her childhood.

So I try to make these everydays count. To be present, and to make ordinary things extraordinary, the regular somehow special. And when it comes to the holidays, I try and make new traditions for our family and create warm memories that she can carry with her as time goes on. Sometimes it's the little things- like the other day we just sat on a hill while Sienna searched for pine cones and chased Charlie with a stick she had found....the sun was just going down giving the whole field a golden glow..Dan & I just watched her laughing at her silliness and just savoring the moment. Or last weekend when she went on her first carousel ride...yelling "hi mommy!!" every time it went around past me.

 

In a way Dan and I are getting to relive our childhood all over again; we're able to revisit our own memories, dip into the nostalgia we both feel for times gone, and make them fresh again with our daughter. Isn't that one of the best parts of parenting? To be able to make a choice that you'll do things differently this time around, or in lucky cases, do things in exactly the same ways you experienced as a child.

It's amazing to think of our children's memories as blank canvases. We are the creators. We make these days count. We have a lot of roles as parents, but the maker of memories is one to be taken so seriously, and I hope one day she can look back and feel warm, and happy, and know she was so very loved.