Memories...

Growing up, I would hear stories of the things my mother made for my sisters and my brother. But for me? I have vague memories of a bathing suit that my mother made me, and that's about it. I have an afghan my grandmother made for me, complete with a crocheted monogram, but really, that's all. I guess that's just what happens when you're the youngest in a family of 6, and your parents first grandchild is born just a scant 10 months after you. I am not upset or bitter about this, not at all. I'm the youngest of six children for heaven's sake, and not just that, but also the last of four girls! To say my parents had their hands full would be an extreme understatement! But sometimes... Sometimes I find myself wishing I had had that closeness with my parents; that bond that just seems to be missing from my entire family...

So I am doing everything I can to make those good memories with my kids, so that they will remember them, hopefully fondly, when they're older and have children of their own. Crafting is wonderful, and I do enjoy it to be sure, but I need to constantly remind myself not to let it take over my life! It seems I have somewhat forgotten this in recent days, and now all I can to is strive to make it up to them. So please, don't be like me. Don't forget to play and have FUN with your children while they're still young enough to enjoy it and actually want you there with them. I'm not saying don't make them clothes or toys if doing so is something you enjoy, by all means do those things if they make you happy, but don't let doing those things make you lose sight of what really is more important, making memories with your child. You don't want your son or daughter to look back at their childhood and think, "I remember my mother/ father being there, but s/he was always tired, crabby, and just not fun to be around. S/he was always stressed out about finishing a project, meeting a deadline, or something else. Yeah, s/he made stuff for me, but... I think I'd rather not talk about that anymore. So, what's going I with..." Yeah, that's not exactly how I want to be remembered by my kids. I want my kids to remember the time we made Oobleck and they got to feel the liquid, yet solid properties of it. I want them to remember when we made play dough on the stovetop and they got to help kneed the different colours in. I want them to remember that trip to the Springs, when in the middle of the summer the water was so cold we could barely make it in past our hips, and our lips were almost purple when we finally got out to go home. Or that trip to the beach that took forever to get ready for, much less find, but that we enjoyed so much. I want them to remember the hand-crafted toys and gifts I have given them, certainly, but I think I would rather be remembered for the fun we shared together, I would rather they remember me actually being there, and not just remembering that I made things for them.

This whole post came about because I was talking to a friend today and I realized that I don't really have many pleasant memories of my parents from when I was growing up. I have plenty of memories of them being there, just sort of off in the background, but not really THERE there.  I have memories of bad things, like when my parents got into an argument or I got in particularly bad trouble for something, as I'm sure most people do, but yeah, there really aren't many FOND memories in there. I don't want that for my kids. I don't want them to look back and only see the fights, the arguments, all the terrible things. I want them to look back with fondness, and to try to give their children the same fun times, plus more if they can, and maybe a few handmade gifts here and there as well.