A few weeks ago before turning 4 years old, Georgie and I were playing "doctor." He had his stethoscope and was frustrated because he couldn't hear my heartbeat. I said, "Georgie, you have to have patience to be a doctor." He replied earnestly, "I have you and Pa."
I happened to write down that interaction and found it on a yellow sticky note this morning. But so many of those precious moments have been lost over the past 4 years... not to mention the gazillion funny things said by the other 6 children along the way.
When our daughter, Liz, was little I kept a notepad and religiously wrote down what we did, what she accomplished and those quirky, funny exchanges.. Today, I leaf through that booklet every once in a while, so grateful I captured a record of that time. I was a teacher and graduate student and liked to write. Today, few moms and grandparents have the time, energy or patience.
By chance, I called my ex-daughter-in-law a while ago and her voicemail was full. Since she's an entrepreneur, I thought she must be really, really busy and didn't try calling again. When she called back a few minutes later, I let her know about the mailbox and she said, "Oh, yeah. That happens once in a while. I really should get rid of some of the voicemails, which are from years ago when the kids were little. But they're so sweet and I listen to them whenever I need to. I just don't have the heart to delete them."
Those moments...
It's never to late to begin to keep a record. A notepad is easy and low-tech and gets the job done. Some folks keep scrapbooks, and photo albums. Big reward but big commitment. Some use Shutterfly and photo collections on the internet,
Do you keep a record? If so, have you got any suggestions? I'm ready to give it another try!
