Remembering

What do you remember from your childhood? I remember bits and pieces. Mostly, I remembered lots of love coming from my parents. Hugs and kisses and tickle wars and elephants (mom and dad, you know what I mean). I remember building forts, playing in the backyard, digging holes, playing on my balance beam and tree house, pretending to be an orphan with Andrea, jumping off the wall and hiding under the blanket, lots of soccer games and soccer practices. Then there are the very proud moments - winning the bike rodeo, making All Stars, winning the Limbo competition in 6th grade, playing the Wicked Witch of the West in third grade and a witch in Macbeth in 6th. There are also the sad moments - when my dad told me my grandpa had passed away, my my dog Shelby ran away from our house the first week after we adopted her and she got hit by a car, when I felt as if I had no friends and my mom offered to be my sleepover friend instead (I yelled "I DON'T WANT TO HAVE A SLEEPOVER WITH YOU!" and she nodded her head knowingly and just hugged me as I cried). Luckily for me, the good memories and feelings seem to outweigh the bad.  Everything is very vague - few specific memories remain. There is one, however, that I remember very well. I remember playing hopscotch in my garage and thinking, "Will I remember this moment?" I also remember that this happened many times in my young childhood. I wondered what, exactly, I would remember. It turn out, I would remember very little other than a warm, fuzzy, happy feeling. I think we would be crazy if we remembered every single moment of our lives.

So we blend the things that happen day after day (for years and years) into one memory. The things that are different stand out and are remembered a little more clearly. Special parties, visitors, trips, etc., are all remembered very well because they are unique and special. As I walked home from a party on a Friday night, I rounded the corner in Lausanne to face my apartment. The light was on in the kitchen, something I had seen many times before, telling me that someone was already home. Something so comfortable and familiar. Would I remember this moment? I asked myself. Probably not. What moments do you remember? What are the things that stand out in your life? Do you have ordinary moments that somehow become important?