Remembering the days of the past...

I often wonder what Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie will remember from their childhoods. Which will be the the significant events that are ingrained in their minds for the rest of their lives and which ones will fade with time? As I look back on my own childhood it's not any one significant even that comes to mind, but rather several little things that may have seemed trivial to "grown-ups", but made a huge impact on me. Those are the memories that will stay with me for life. A handful of those memories include:

*FAMILY: My family and I obedience trained and showed dogs in the U.S. and Canada. I showed a Golden Retriever named Dealer. No, it was NOTHING like the movie Best in Show. Well, maybe it was kind of like it...
-My extended family would go camping every summer for 1-2 weeks. This was something I looked forward to every year, but looking back on it now, I wonder how all of us kids didn't drive my Aunts and Uncles to the brink of insanity!
-I spent countless weekends at my grandparent's house. So many great memories occurred there including: playing with my cousins, playing whiffle ball in the back yard (we went by the official rules: If you knocked the ball into the alley it was an automatic home run), eating ice-cream cones with Hershey syrup dripping off the cone and down your elbow, screaming and rushing around to look for change when we heard the ice-cream truck music coming down the street, playing with homemade playdoh (It was actually edible), and being more spoiled than you will ever be the rest of your life!

*HOME: Living on a farm lent itself to loads of entertainment from building hay forts, caring for the animals, and hiking into the woods to sledding onto a pond and attempting to sleep outside. I do remember catching 4-5 bullfrogs from the pond and bringing them into the house causing my mom to scream bloody murder. Why did I do it? Because it seemed like a fun thing to do at that moment.

*HOLIDAYS: I can still remember the feeling as a child to wake-up on Christmas morning and run downstairs to see that indeed Santa had stopped by our house! (And the song always said Santa had checked his list twice to see who was naught or nice! I guess some of us slipped through the cracks!) I also loved the holiday TV specials including Rudolph, Frosty, A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and A Christmas Story. I can even remember seeing some of these movies wearing footie pajamas!

*FASHION: I was into all the crazy fashions from big hair (I think I used a can of hairspray a week!) and jelly shoes that pinched my feet and left blisters, but I didn't care because I thought they looked good to friendship bracelets and stirrup pants.

*RANDOM THINGS: Seeing my first movie which was E.T. with my sister and mom. I was amazed by the huge screen, popcorn, and candy, but was a bit creeped out by E.T. You've got to admit for a second grader he would be a bit disturbing!
-Playing video games on intellivision. My favorites included Pitfall, Boxing, and Horse racing. Technology has come such a long way since then.
-Going to a local swimming pool in the summer. I remember spending all day at the pool and staying in the pool until my hands and feet were so shriveled up that I looked to be 50! Hee Hee, just kidding! More like 100.
-Chewing 2-3 pieces of Hubba Bubba bubble gum at once to try to blow the biggest bubble. I'm shocked I don't have TMJ from it!

*Most of all I remember and long for the days when I didn't have to worry about money, obligations, others, or housework. Where the summers seemed to last a lifetime and I could sleep in everyday!

So much has changed since I was a child. I can't even begin to imagine how different it will be for Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie, but I hope they have numerous happy memories that will bring smiles and laughter to them when remembered.

Zany thought of the day: "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child". This quote helps look at priorities and what's important. I know for me I need to remind myself from time to time that it's not the cleanliness of the house that my kids will remember, but the times I spent with them.