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I hope that my daughter always remembers that I listened to her, valued her interests, supported her, that I love Jesus, laughed with her, wasn’t afraid to put something that “had to be done” to play with her, and most of all that I loved her fiercely.

I pray that my children will remember that God was always a part of our lives and that we always lived lives to show that. I also pray they will remember that we had fun as a family - vacations, playing games, watching movies, etc.

There are so many “activities” that want to steal us away from precious family time. After reading your blog I am convicted even more that we need to continue to fight for family time - they won’t remember every day of their life, so the things we really hope they remember we need to make sure and do over and over again.

I hope they remember that we laughed at everything and that it’s okay to laugh uncontrollably. I hope they remember that God was our focus, our purpose for being and our reason for worshiping. I hope they remember that love was the glue that stuck us together through the hard times, through the good times and through the boring times, too. I hope they remember how deeply we cared for them while they were in our home. And if you’ll just excuse me, I’m going to go cry about it now and ask God to give me the desire to want the things He wants for my family! Thanks for this thoughtful post, Melanie!

This is really poignant, Melanie. Like you, I have just a few snapshots from my early days. I sometimes wonder if our kids will remember more, if for no other reason than we will have photographs of almost EVERYTHING. (In contrast to my childhood, where my parents photographed Christmas each year and that’s about it.)

It’s startling and somewhat melancholy to me when I look at my children enjoying some sweet moment and I realize they will probably not remember this.

But I will. Which is why I try to treasure each day.

This is probably my favorite post I’ve read in a long time… I travelled down memory lane myself just reading it. My own memories from that age… the barbie house and raggedy ann doll for Christmases, the slumber parties, my Grandaddy picking me up from school one day in kindergarten (I was so proud!), Mama always taking me to school and not having to ride the bus, performing in the church Christmas musical(the fear, Oh God, the fear), sticking the bobby pin into the electrical outlet in the living room (very vivid memory there), and getting a crayon stuck in my daddy’s pencil sharpener and blaming it on my sister (the guilt!)… just to name a few). :)

I pray my son and daughter remember me always being there for them. Dinners around the table with everyone sharing, singing praise and worship music together in the car, and playing with them inside (yes, I have my own American Girl doll to play with my daughter’s doll) and outside (I can throw a mean football with my son). More than anything, (tears) I pray they don’t have a feeling of abandonement from their father leaving us when they were 2 and 6. I hope I’ve been able to fill in the cracks he created in their little lives in my 4 years as a single mom. and I hope their wonderful step-daddy has started to seal a Father’s love in their heart in the last year that can give them a good balance when they look for their own mate one day. I pray to God I’m setting a good example for them that they’ll remember and try to live by.

Thanks for the great post, Melanie.
I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t take much for granted anymore. It’s all special and priceless to me, every second.

I am at a different stage than you…my babes are teens now. I love to hear them recount memories. I find it amazing the things that stick with them and that they have loved about their lives. Little things make it into their hearts…not all the big expensive stuff.

I see much clearer today….what matters most to them and to their dad and I. Family IS so very important. Being consistent in everything is so very important. Living outloud with your faith is so very important.

Loving them unconditionally….priceless! This post was very heart-warming! Thank you for sharing it.

Oh Melanie,

This made me cry!! Thanks for a well-written and downright sweet reminder of savoring the moments of life that are quickly turning into vapor right before our eyes!

Blessings, friend! Dori

Caroline may remember a lot more than you think she will. The reason I say that is because I’m like you…..I remember bits and pieces of my childhood but not a whole vivid lot. But take for example MY daughter who is now 31. She remembers EVERYTHING! I promise I sometimes wonder if she remembers the day she was born! ha I’ve never seen anything like it. She will say…Mama, do you remember the day we did “so & so”…..and then it will come back to me. But I would have never remembered it on my own! Your Caroline may be the same way. It’s great that she will have so many happy memories with you ! Keep enjoying!

Marilyn

My girls are in college now, and, thankfully, I’ve started to regain my status as a person who just might have a little life knowledge - as opposed to the blooming idiot I was a short few years ago! :o) Because of this, we can now have thoughtful conversations and they occasionally grace me with kind remarks about their growing up years.

I’ve discovered that they remember the songs and books we read every night, every one of the special birthday cakes that I made them and the fact that they had really fun parties; they remember how we did crafts when their friends came over; interestingly, they remember a couple of very creative disciplinary actions that their dad came up with (i.e. “Camp Sisterhood”) and how well they worked. The underlying theme to what they remember is “time” and “attention”. Really, those are the things that remain.

Certainly, they have memories of some of the many mistakes that we made, but even those, if played out with humility, can turn into decent memories and great lessons.

Great post - I have a feeling that Caroline will have exactly the memories you desire for her, simply because you are cognizant of them now.

Oh, but she will remember. You captured a lot of those everyday snapshots on your blog and those little bits will be enough for a real memory to rise to the surface for Caroline.

That’s part of the reason I blog. I think back to what I wish I could remember about life with my dad. It helps me to remember how much the little things mean to a child.

Want to know what triggered one of those memories lately? An old wicker laundry basket. It took me right back to helping him with hand and fold the laundry in our back yard right after getting home from school in the afternoon.

i was just thinking about this very thing this weekend when i made a parenting mistake and yelled at my kids. my actual thought was i hope this is one of those things that they don’t remember… but that means there’s probably a lot of good that will get left out too!

beautifully written, melanie!

My kids are grown now and we are enjoying our little three-year old grandson. Mine may not remember everything but it helps that we are a family of storytellers. We sit at the dinner table and recount stories about everything from the day they were born to the silly words they used to say. And when my mom is there, she tells stories about when I was little.

Storytelling can help keep all those memories alive!

My hopes for my two girls would be a memory bank of fun times sprinkled with love. Family game night or movie night. Their dad’s constant attention. Being tucked in at night and honored with attention and kisses.

My love for Jesus being woven into all areas of our lives and the unashamed love I worship Him with. I see glimpses of this when my eye catches them in the rearview mirror and their hands are raised and they are deeply involved in a worship song. Oh it makes me wanna shout. I love them because I love Him.

Mel, What a touching post! I want my sons to remember that I loved them more than anyone on this earth. I want them to remember the things I have taught about God and His Word. I want them to remember how important prayer is and that it will be the best tool to carry them through life along with their personal relationship with God. Being a single mom this truly touches a place in my heart because I want them to remember how God brought the three of us through the dificulties of life. Thank you for this post! Love you, Patty

What is so crazy and amazing about the times our kids are growing up in is that we have a bazillion photos AND we document everything they do on our blogs. They’re going to remember way, way more than we ever did.

I too wonder about the things I’ve forgotten in childhood. I hope my girls will remember how loved they were - even when getting in trouble, how we read every night, the quiet little songs they ask for at bedtime (In the Secret, Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, I love you Lord), taking the time to just stop and listen when they really need to talk. I’m sure there’s other things they’ll never forget “Mom, do we have to speak German….., I don’t want to clean my room, I just want to play”

This makes me think.

Even though my daughter may not have all the memories of childhood, what we do with her will still make an impression on her life and on who she will become.

That I taught them to laugh. To laugh at the good and to laugh off the bad.

I’ve never really thought about their memories like that. For some reason, it just made me cry. But it is so true. We DO hold all these sweet memories so dear to us. Hopefully, the things we do and what we teach them will instill in their minds and hearts and make them wonderful, caring adults. Thanks for this sweet, thoughtful post!!

I want her to remember that we prayed with her every night…that I wasn’t afraid to say “I’m sorry” when I lost my temper and yelled…that she was covered in kisses and hugs (sometimes much to her disgust)…that we did the same 5 puzzles and read the same 4 books over and over and over again, just because it made her happy.

This was beautiful, Melanie.

I hope my children remember that their dad and I loved each other very much and that we loved them big.

I hope they look back on their childhood as fun-filled.