So I Don’t Forget
I must have the worst memory in the world. Sometimes my husband will say things like, “remember that restaurant we went to years ago, when we travelled to …“. And, I have no clue what he’s talking about.
Most of my memories are sporadic and broad, the fine details mostly non-existent. It’s something that has bothered me for years, even prompting many discussions with my doctor – because of course, this has to mean something bigger. Alas, no insight into why I’m a person with such a bad memory – just something I’m sad to deal with.
This is why I take so many photos and videos – my reminder that it did happen. If there isn’t a photo, the time and place will disappear from my mind, most definitely.
At the top of this – my children. Quite honestly, I wish I was a person that could recall with great detail the day they each walked for the first time. Nope. Can I close my eyes and vividly see the first time they smiled? Nope.
The precious moments happen in life, and I take it all in the best I can, hoping that it’ll stay intact for later reference. It doesn’t. I silently scream that those little tidbit gems of raising kids will once be forgotten. So, millions of photos I take, and videos I capture. Even if it’s just them looking out a window. These captured moments are for me, and if they take like me at all, for them one day as well.
So, here’s a peek at my moments, those ones that make me smile. Some recent {Isabelle is currently 10. Sophia and Katelyn will be turning 7 in just a few short days}, and some are from the past, yet thankfully I had scribbled it down on a paper.
So I don’t forget.
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“I like this real honey, Mom. It’s not like the carbonated stuff you get in the store”
– Isabelle, age 10
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Scratching at the bend in her elbow. Picking at something on her skin, with her nail. Smelling it. Rubbing it. Scratching it again with a look of confusion. Finally saying to me, “Mom, I’ve sorry to tell you this, but I must have gotten poo on myself and it won’t come off”
– Katelyn, age 5. On first noticing she has a birthmark
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My daughter was getting annoyed that our new puppy wasn’t listening to her so I said, “Charlie doesn’t know what you’re saying, Katie, dogs don’t speak English like we do”
Katie: “Wait. What?! We speak English?!?!”
– Katelyn, age 6 {country confusion with England}
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“Why do I need to wipe the table? I did it yesterday?’
Me: “you also wiped your butt yesterday, does that mean you don’t need to today?”
“well played Mom”
– Conversations with Isabelle, age 10
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Many times the twins have dis-invited each other to their birthday party, since that’s the ultimate ‘I don’t like you’ as a kid, right?
– Sophia & Kateyln, age 4-6
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Still not understanding the ‘twin’ thing, there’s been a few times the girls have dressed the same or got the same item and then say to each other, “It’s like we’re twins!“.
– Sophia & Katelyn, age 4-6 {and they still don’t ‘get it’}
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“Mom, when we sell candy at Halloween …”
– Sophia, age 6 – girl guide cookie/halloween confusion
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Katie: “I had the most terrible dream last night”
Sophia: “that’s silly, Katie. There’s nothing terrible in this world”
– Twin-talk, age 5
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While in the car one day, Katelyn had a request for her Father whom was in the passenger seat right in front of her.
“Dad? can you shut your window? … Dad? It’s windy, can you shut your window? … Dad, please? … DAD! Can you please shut your window, it’s blowing me! …. DAD! Can you shut the window?”
I can’t remember what he was doing this entire time, but obviously he didn’t hear her.
“DAD! SHUT YOUR DAMN WINDOW!!!!”
He heard that time.
– A frustrated Katelyn, age 6
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♫ When I’m gone, When I’m gone. You gonna miss me by my feet when I’m gone. ♫
– Katelyn, age 5 – her version of the lyrics in ‘Cups’
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“Achoo!! Oh no … I just blessed out my gum”
– Sophia, Age 5
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At the top of her Christmas wishlist for 2012 – ‘leashes for Sophia and Katie’. For serious.
– Isabelle, age 8
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♫ “I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, sayin ehhhh-oooo, I got your Lego...”♫
– Katelyn, age 4 – her version of the lyrics in ‘Dynamite’
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Katie screaming: “You broke my Barbie car!”
Sophia: “No I didn’t, it was born like that!”
– Twin-talk, age 4
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♫ “Wake up in the morning feeling like spaghetti…” ♫
– Katelyn, almost 4 – her version of the lyrics in ‘Tik Tok’
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“Can I do my hair differently tomorrow?”
I said “Sure, but why are you holding a fork?”
Her reply, “Well, Chinese girls put chopsticks in their hair, and it must be in case they get hungry. And we eat with forks so … duh, Mom”
-Isabelle, age 7
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Practicing for her spelling test I ask. “Spell ‘awesome’”
Her: “Can you use that in a sentence?”
Me: “I am awesome”
Her: “Try again, this time in a real sentence”
– Isabelle, age 7
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“That’s a big dumb f*ck, Mom. I like that dumb f*ck”
– Sophia, age 3 – talking about dump trucks
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“I love you – just the way you are”
– Isabelle, age 6 saying as she kissed her sister Katie’s forehead who was age 2 at the time
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What are some parenting moments that you don’t want to forget?
I have a memory like an elephant, so I remember it all luckily 🙂
This is just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I love it!
I have a terrible memory too, I wish I wrote down all the stuff my son would say when he was younger. He would always crack me up.
I love some of your memories. Some are sweet and some are funny, so thank you for sharing. I tend to remember a lot more than my boyfriend, but I won’t lie, there are many things I forget. I should definitely start doing something so that I can remember the little moments more often.
I think this is just lovely! It’s a beautiful tribute to growing up.
This is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing these special moments with us. I have so many memorable memories of the boys, and even some I don’t want to remember.
I’m the same way about forgetting things or getting memories mixed up. I like having photo proof to help me remember, too.
Your girls are beautiful!
I used to have a great memory, but now it is fading fast! I love that you have written all these cute things the girls have said, down to remember.
These are hilarious! Your daughters look more and more beautiful each day!
So beautiful ! I love this entry. It choked me up and made me giggle, loved it.
Wow the girls have really grown and look so much like you!
I like to scrapbook my photos. I will write a little paragraph about the pictures. These are great conversations they made me giggle.
My memory certainly isn’t what it use to be. I love you wrote these down! They are soo stinking cute. I need to start doing this.
These are some cute things that your kids have said! I can’t imagine trying to remember all these little sayings, what a great way to show your kids what they said.
Those are the cutest little things to remember. I try and do the same with my kids.
how sweet and the girls are sooo adorable. thank you for share. love it
Oh my! Your girls are gorgeous!
Your girls are beautiful. I love how you are cherishing every moment
These are such amazing little memories. I really need to start a journal for funny things like this my kids do!
I love these moments with my kids too and can’t seem to take enough pictures to help me remember these times!
Thank you for sharing; It’s lovely. My memory is mostly amazing and sometime I wish I could forget things. I do have a problem remembering people names, and I can’t remember people I went to school with, maybe because I move to another province when I was 18. I go visit my mom and they say hi and I have no clue who they are.
Oh I am sorry that’s tough, I remember things from when I was 3 and my mom says how do you remember that?? I can remember almost everything except what I just went to the kitchen for!!
Love the quotes from the girls. Being a twin myself, I totally understand the twin talk! The photo of your girls is so lovely. The girls are beautiful!
Marilyn
Good job on writing. I feel like I will remember and, of course, I forget… and a lot sooner than I would want to admit!
Such important memories! I keep journals for both kids for this very reason! I don’t put pressure on myself to write big entries (I know I wouldn’t do it.) so I just write snippets, like this. I hope they love them someday!
All the cute little things they say or do that I never remember till a pic or you see another kid do the same!! My memory is the pits as well.lol
Thanks for this post,I so enjoyed the read and it also brought back memories of when my kids were young so many years ago.You are truly blessed with 3 beautiful daughters.
what a great idea! kids really do say the funniest stuff sometimes (like your oldest asking for leashes for her sisters), and the sweetest things, and it’s good to keep track of that. You are right, life happens so fast, and there are so many memorable moments, that sometimes little things like this get forgotten.
I am horrible at remembering things. I should’ve wrote down the funny things my kids said. There’s been some good ones over the years!
I remember things, but Dh does not. We talk about things he doesn’t remember quite a lot.
Your kids are so funny. Especially the “twins, and they still don’t ‘get it’”
I love these quotes and I bet the girls will love them as they get older. You are building a treasure chest of memories for your girls and for yourself. Kudos to you. I have one for you from my ggson, aged 4, on hearing he was flying with his Mother for the first time: ” i’m not afraid of airplanes, but I want to take a parachute with me! (They assured him that the airline would give him one.-They haven’t flown yet so I do not know how that turns out.)