thankful for the memory

Learning

I have often wondered what it would be like to raise a child from birth. My babies came to me when they were six, seven and eleven.  I wasn’t there when they were learning how to take their first steps or when they said their first words.  I have wondered what it would be like if I was there from the beginning.  I know that everything worked out exactly the way it was supposed to, but I know I would have enjoyed being there for those special moments, just as much as I enjoyed being there for all the special moments since.

I was thankful that I was able to experience a one moment that I thought had passed. All three of my kids already knew how to tie their shoes by the time I had met them.  But, there was a time when the craze was to tie your shoes in a knot, under the tongue and lose enough that you could slip on your shoes without untying and re-tying them.  Needless to say, my boys went about six months without having to tie their shoes the typical way.  I can remember being in the living room when I heard muffled, frustrated sounds coming from the bedroom.  I walked in to see my youngest sitting on the bed trying to tie his new shoes.  I asked him what was wrong and in the saddest, most pathetic voice he could muster, he said, “I forgot how to tie my shoes!”  Poor baby was almost in tears.  I told him that since he hadn’t had to tie his shoes in a while, it wasn’t bad that he had forgotten how to do it.  After showing him how to tie a perfect bow and praising him that it only took a few minutes for him to master the process, I told him how happy I was that he had forgotten in the first place.  He looked at me like I had two heads!  I then explained how I missed out on teaching him things when he was little, so it made me feel good that I got to teach him how to tie his shoes.  With a smile and a hug, he said, “It’s ok that you missed all that stuff, cause you can teach me a lot of other stuff now!”  That made my heart smile and I’ve enjoyed teaching him “stuff” for the last ten years!