Thinking about what I've done
Good Tuesday morning, one and all. I come to you today suffering from a cold or something, so bear with me!
Today's title was a kind of nod to what our parents used to tell us when we would be sent to our rooms (before "time out" was a thing, of course). "Go in there and think about what you've done!" Whatever that was. I have two brothers and growing up, we brawled constantly, so what I had "done" was often what I was involved in, along with one or both of them.
But I've been traveling a lot by car lately, so when you're on the endless road, the mind wanders far and wide, and that phrase came back to me for some reason.
I was talking with my wife the other night about something and said that I should document all of the silly things I did when our kids were growing up that we all found so funny. But since they both visit this space sometimes, I won't torture them further than I already have!
But invariably, we DO start thinking about things that have happened in the past, some great, some not as much. Loved ones who are part of our daily lives, and those now departed. Friends we've known and have lost touch with. Jobs we used to have. Places we used to live. And on and on.
I don't habitually keep a lot of stuff, don't maintain a scrapbook or a journal (except this blog, of course), and my photo library pretty much starts when our first grandchild was born (thankfully both my son and son-in-law are major shutterbugs). But it's all in there, somewhere, amid the movie lines and baseball statistics, crew listings from the Apollo missions, song lyrics, etc.
But I like the randomness of it, how I will suddenly and for no reason think of my sixth grade teacher. Or that time the prettiest girl in school came to my house to join a bunch of the neighborhood kids in climbing our friendly willow tree. Or the occasion of meeting a Senator at a speech tournament while in high school.
You get the picture.
Lots of these experiences are interesting and memorable only to me, of course, and I think I like to keep it that way. We're all the sum of our personal experiences, of course, so each of these little snippets contributes to the whole in some way.
Will I remember things that happen now in twenty years? I hope so. My grandchildren constantly do and say things that make me laugh, make me think and make me FEEL, and I hope that never changes. My wife and I already reminisce about our oldest grandchild, now nine years old, as though SHE'S old!
So I suppose today's another day to experience more stuff. Make the most of it!
Today's title was a kind of nod to what our parents used to tell us when we would be sent to our rooms (before "time out" was a thing, of course). "Go in there and think about what you've done!" Whatever that was. I have two brothers and growing up, we brawled constantly, so what I had "done" was often what I was involved in, along with one or both of them.
But I've been traveling a lot by car lately, so when you're on the endless road, the mind wanders far and wide, and that phrase came back to me for some reason.
I was talking with my wife the other night about something and said that I should document all of the silly things I did when our kids were growing up that we all found so funny. But since they both visit this space sometimes, I won't torture them further than I already have!
But invariably, we DO start thinking about things that have happened in the past, some great, some not as much. Loved ones who are part of our daily lives, and those now departed. Friends we've known and have lost touch with. Jobs we used to have. Places we used to live. And on and on.
I don't habitually keep a lot of stuff, don't maintain a scrapbook or a journal (except this blog, of course), and my photo library pretty much starts when our first grandchild was born (thankfully both my son and son-in-law are major shutterbugs). But it's all in there, somewhere, amid the movie lines and baseball statistics, crew listings from the Apollo missions, song lyrics, etc.
But I like the randomness of it, how I will suddenly and for no reason think of my sixth grade teacher. Or that time the prettiest girl in school came to my house to join a bunch of the neighborhood kids in climbing our friendly willow tree. Or the occasion of meeting a Senator at a speech tournament while in high school.
You get the picture.
Lots of these experiences are interesting and memorable only to me, of course, and I think I like to keep it that way. We're all the sum of our personal experiences, of course, so each of these little snippets contributes to the whole in some way.
Will I remember things that happen now in twenty years? I hope so. My grandchildren constantly do and say things that make me laugh, make me think and make me FEEL, and I hope that never changes. My wife and I already reminisce about our oldest grandchild, now nine years old, as though SHE'S old!
So I suppose today's another day to experience more stuff. Make the most of it!
Comments
Post a Comment