Making Memories

We've had the kid-ling for the past three nights again.

Last night we were just too tired to do anything else so we turned on the TV. I'm not a big fan of parking kids in front of the television. It kind of feels lazy. I also think that it's a big reason that kid-ling, who will be 4 in March, has a tougher time than other kids his age interacting and conversing. However, it was Friday night and we were all tired.

Kids TV programming is barely recognizable. The only thing that even seemed familiar was Blues Clues. We turned on the Noggin Network and hoped the programming was a little more educational than on the Cartoon Network. He got excited when a program called Wonder Pets came on.

Ali and I were laying on the couch watching him and watching the show. The baby animals were using Tarzan as their model to swing through the forest on their way to save another baby animal from imminent danger. They were doing the Tarzan jungle yell when suddenly I had a very vivid memory from my own childhood.

At the age of maybe six I was watching an old Tarzan movie on TV. It was running in black and white. There was someone who had done something very bad who was tied, upside down, between two young sapling trees that had been bent down and crossed in front of each other. Suddenly the rope that held the two trees together was cut and the man was ripped in half, from his crotch upwards, as the trees sprung back to their standing positions.

Hearing those baby animals doing their Tarzan impersonations last night brought that memory back with a whoosh last night. And then it really got me thinking about how we never know when we're making a memory.

What will kid-ling remember about the days that he spent with us while he was four? That we let him watch cartoons? The "Auber" jumps on him and makes him cry? That we let him eat all the bananas he wants? That we loved him and tried to set boundaries for him – or will he remember that he thought we were mean?

What about in my own life? What little things will stick with me and go on to become very sweet and tender memories and what things will I let go of forever?

It's an interesting thing to ponder as I go about my days. You never know when you're making a memory.