Moments in time

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I have moments in time that I remember, that I’ll always remember. 

Like it happened yesterday.

Last week my Grandpa would have been 80.

My brother posted on Facebook that he didn’t really remember him, but he wish he could. 

And then as we all jotted down the things that we did remember, we realised, including him that we did remember things, but in the day to day of life, it parks itself in the back corner of our minds.

I guess that’s what I kind of love about having a blog. 

I write...... so some of those ‘small things’ that I’d probably most certainly forget about, will in fact never be forgotten.

The things my kids said or did, the things I wouldn’t think to tell them, they’ll know.

The things we did together, they won’t remember everything, I don’t record everything, but they will remember, they have a chronological path to follow right here.

My thoughts and feelings, who I am, when I’m old and different, maybe no longer around, they’ll know. 

They’ll have an insight into how I actually was, who I am now.

So below is a random collection of ’10 things I remember’ just because... I do.

1/ It seems only fitting that I start with my Grandpa, I remember gathering for family holidays (Easter / Christmas) and Grandpa setting up his table and chairs under the annex of his caravan in the backyard.  I remember we’d all huddle around that area like it was the place to be.  We’d laugh at jokes and just enjoy being together.

2/ I remember moving to the country town I grew up in when I was six.  I don’t really remember much of my life before then.  I don’t even really remember the move.  But I do remember being in my front yard and meeting a neighbour who would go on to be my best friend for the greater part of primary school.

3/ I remember riding my bike on my first day of high school.  Anxious that my mum said I couldn’t go to the other high school where all my friends were going.  I was the only girl from my primary school going to this school.  But as I rode up that bike path I made a new friend or two, who became some of my closest friends through high school and beyond.

4/ I remember a family moving to town, they were right into basketball.  They encouraged me to join, took me under their wing.  I was never going to be as good as them, but with their dad as our coach and their support and guidance, basketball was definitely a loved sport for me growing up.

5/ I remember finally getting a microwave after years of everyone having one.  Living in a single parent family, it wasn’t on our list of priorities, (or my mum’s list of priorities), so when someone down the road was upgrading from dial to press button, mum bought their old one, second hand for a steal.

6/ I also remember dragging the cord of my family telephone through the hallway and under my bedroom door, so I could talk to my girlfriends, (who I’d seen all day) for hours on end.  I had to sit on the floor and lean up against the door because that is as far as the cord would reach and occasionally, someone would trip over it and pull the cord out of the socket.  Was such a pain!

7/ I remember going to see La Bamba on the big screen at the local town hall.  We didn’t have a cinema in our town.

8/ When I was in year 12 McDonalds opened in a neighbouring town.  It was still a ½ hour drive away, but you were guaranteed to run into at least a dozen people you knew if you made the trip.  Prior to this McDonalds was a treat we got when we went to stay with my dad in Melbourne during school holidays. To be honest I didn’t even like it that much!

9/ I remember my driving instructor telling me after he congratulated me on getting my license, that he feared for people like me and hoped that nothing bad happened to me.  Seriously!  I stalled the car down the main street and then tried to start it when it was already running, that is all.  I know that he was just peeved off that I had refused to pay for more lessons but demanded to sit the test.

10/ I remember how loved I felt when some of my good friends arranged a going away party for me prior to my overseas trip.  When people make an effort to do something to make you feel special, well .... it makes you feel pretty darn special.

So that is it for today.  I guess I won’t ever have to worry about tripping over the cord when Lulu is talking to her friends.  I’ll be too busy monitoring her mobile phone bill and Facebook account or who knows what by then. 

What’s a really random thing that you know you’ll never forget even if it might feel insignificant to some?

Cheers

Mandy.