Katrina, my daughter, rolls her eyes toward the heavens every time that John and I share a moment from early in our relationship for the seventeen hundred billionth time.
"Moooommmmmmmmmmm! Really? You are going to tell that story again? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy goodness!"
The fact of the matter is that memories are the unexpected adventures we have every day that leave imprints on our hearts. The stories we tell time and time again. They may change a bit - depending on the audience and the telling - but they define us, and those we invite to our inner circle.
As a child, my memories are of cherry orchards and Sleeping Bear Dunes. Camp Run-A-Muck and cousins and Lake Leelanau. (And that we avoid Traverse City at Cherry Festival time, no matter what!)
My husband, John, tells stories of great trips to exotic islands where he and his brother Mike tackle various adolescent rights-of-passage, from island exploring to dos cerveza por favor to local parties filled with music, food and magic.
John and I have chosen to focus on family experiences more so than "stuff."
Since before she could walk we've had our daughter, Katrina, on planes, trains and automobiles, seeing the world from China to Florida to St. Lucia and Turks and Caicos. She won't remember many of her early adventures, but she is a seasoned traveler, easily navigating security, passport control, unidentifiable food and a trooper at baggage claim.
As important as her world travels is her connection with family. As an only child, we've worked hard to ensure that she has an emotional connection with cousins, that we create a safe environment for friends, and that her definition of "family" extends beyond Webster's.
My hope is that she will continue to embrace, and will share with her children, the magic of Camp Chark and our heritage of tie-dyed t-shirts and sweatshirts. That her Lord of the Flies type antics lakeside with whittled sticks stabbing dead fish will be a story that she'll share for a lifetime. That s'mores and campfires and movies projected on walls and summer time visits with her future college roommate, Madison Grant, will be something that causes a smile to light her face. That days of "I'm booooorrrrrreeeeeedddd!!!!" with her current BFF and blood sister, Samantha, will be a case in point with her own children who will undoubtedly utter the same desperate plea.
Today we went to her cousin Emily's high school graduation party. Katrina and Emily could be sisters. They are clearly cousins. The party itself may not be a memory for her - but most definitely her jumping off of the floating dock at the Yacht Club into the deep, dark waters of Muskegon Lake will be as the time she further conquered her fears and jumped into the unknown. Or coming home and finding a peacock - yes, a peacock, wandering the cul de sac in front of our house. My hope is that she looks back and tells stories of her childhood starting with, "Oh - that's the summer I ..." and launches into a fit of giggles as she tries to get her stories out in a way as meaningful to her audience as it is to her. I think that we are raising her to have such memories - we are certainly are creating our own versions that we'll tell her friends in years to come from our perspective!
So - I've warned John that I am convinced I'll have full blown memory loss by the time I hit 50. Seriously, I can barely remember people's names, how to spell words and other mundane day-to-day things. But - my memories of good times as a child, early adult hood, and my life with John and Katrina are certainly still vivid. This may cause me to blog more to capture them so that Katrina has them to enjoy and share later in life before I lose them completely. But everyday I find some special moment that makes me smile, laugh aloud, or want to write down so I don't forget to share it, embellish it, or preserve it - because memories are the stories that you share with the people you care about the most.
Wishing everyone memorable days, and a most memorable summer!
Peace Out!
