Reflections

Sometimes when I think of my children,

I wonder what they will remember of their childhoods.

After all, so much of what I do with them is the day to day, routine moments..

necessary to be sure but also highly forgettable.

I know there are certain things they love to do,

traditions that have been created either purposefully or inadvertently, that they cling to.

"But we HAVE to do (xyz) because we did it LAST year and it's a TRADITION!"

I find that the kids are much more wed to doing things the same than we are-

they have designated seats at the table and kitchen island, and even in the van

and these were never assigned to them that way.

Somewhere along the way, by some unspoken mutual agreement, it became known

amongst the three and it became law.

Kids are funny like that. They spend their time pushing against rules and boundaries

(some more than others..) but then they create all kinds of rules and rituals for themselves.

When I think of memories from my childhood, I find them to be a mix of the extraordinary and the mundane.

The day to day type memories of breakfast and dinners together,

John Denver, Linda Ronstadt, Willy Nelson or Simon and Garfunkel playing on my parents' stereo,

watching TV in the family room,

my mom and then my brother driving me to school each day.

Then, there's the extraordinary:

My mom baking special cakes for our birthdays, or those cool ice-cream-cone-cupcake ones for me to take to school, or homemade fudge to take on a field trip.

My dad taking me to a country festival in Texas, where George Strait sang The Fireman and George "The Possum" Jones didn't show up,

and most awesomely of all, my mom's great big surprise..

One day in high school, I was called to come to the office, packed and ready to leave for the day.

As I walked down the hall, I wracked my brain.

Did I have an appointment I had forgotten about? Had something awful happened?

My mom met me in the office and revealed a huge surprise when we got in the car.

We had tickets to go to Dallas, TX. We were going to see BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN in concert!

She had acquired very hard to get tickets to see The Boss during his Born in America concert tour.

What a surprise! Made even more special by the fact that it was for no reason at all.

I have another friend who would call the school office once a year

and tell them that her daughter had a fever.

Then, she would hang up the phone and she and her daughter would shout "SHOPPING FEVER!" Off they would go for a day on the town, illicit and wonderful.

I think the time is coming for me to pop a few big surprises of my own..