Making Memories

One of the things that I want most for my children is for them to have pleasant memories.  I want them to look back on their childhoods and smile about their experiences.  While I know that they will have some unpleasant memories, I try hard to give them good memories too.  

I try to do small things on a daily basis to make them smile and feel loved.  I place a small note in Abigail's school snack box every day.  

I take time to play with the girls.  I color, paint, read, play dolls, build Lego houses, etc. every single day.  It might get boring sometimes, but I love spending time with them and I want them to remember me as a part of their childhoods!

I also try to create larger memories of big events.  We host a large playgroup every week.  I bake mini muffins for the children and lead them in an art project each week.

We also host events for the girls' friends.  Last weekend, we hosted an Easter egg hunt for 30 children.  I hard boiled and dyed over 200 hundred eggs that my husband then hid in the yard.  It was a lot of work, but it was worth it!  And the girls have been talking about it ever since!

As I have been working hard to make memories for my children, I am also creating great memories of my own.  I know that I will only have my girls at home for a short time and I want to make the most of it.  One day, I want to be able to look back at all of the fun we had together!

I hope that my children grow up with happy childhoods and want to create similar experiences for their own children one day.

What special things do you do to make memories with (and for) your children?

Marla is a former special education teacher, current PhD student, university instructor, and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of two little girls (ages 2 and 4).  She blogs about homeschooling at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.

"When You Thought I Wasn't Looking"

(Beth's attempt at a Toy Story cake)

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always talk, to, and I learned to trust God.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make a meal. And take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don’t.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight and I felt loved and safe.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn’t feel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it’s alright to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I learned most of life’s lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, “Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn’t looking.”

*When I found this poem, there was no author. It simply says, “by a Child.”