Today we went to the zoo.
We do that a lot, your sister and I.
My Uncle Fritz was reminding me last night of all the times he took me and my sister and cousins to the zoo. I don't remember him being with me, but I know he must have because he knew that the hippopotamuses were my favorite. That's what I remember about the zoo... the three hippos, mama and daddy and baby. It's my zoo memory.
What will yours be?
Will it be the people we go with? We have been with your grandpa and Nana a lot. Gram was with us last time. The Gonzalez's have gone with us a lot in the past. We've met up with Aunt Serita a couple of times, once before you were born and once after. Today we went with the Hazens.
Will you be like your sister and more taken with the scenery, the pools of water and the waterfall, than the actual animals?
Or did the lion make an impression on you today?
Or will it continue to be, as it was again today, the fish?
It's one of the oddest things about being a mother... building memories, I mean. I do all of these things to make memories with you and I won't know until you are a young man whether or not you took from any of it what I thought you would, or if it stuck with you at all.
After all, your take away from the day could have been, "And she made me wear the owl hat ALL DAY LONG."Love,
Mom
I think kids remember daily life a lot more than the special occasions. What's so cool about your traditions is that you expose them to specialness enough that it becomes "daily," something routine on which they can count. Then they will grow up and say, "We always went to the zoo with the Hazens (and grands)." I remember my everyday life when I was a kid pretty well, so I focus on writing about their day to day routines. Yeah, this is an interesting topic, so I'm going to write a full post on it, I think.
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