“Mom, do remember when I cut my first tooth?”
Nope.
“Hey Mom, how old was I when I took my first steps?”
Um…don’t recall.
“Yo Ma, do you remember when we buried my pet lizard?”
You had a pet lizard?
My children call it senility ( for which I am far too young). I have a different name for the harrowing years when there were 4 young children running around the house.
The Lost Years!
The children were not lost–and that was no small feat, mind you–but there is a period of about 5 years ( maybe more) when I simply have very little memory of…anything.
Four children will do that to you!
Although…I do recall the following:
1. changing diaper after diaper after diaper after diaper after.. ad infinitum
2. endless loads of laundry
3. screaming and crying from the back seat ( kiddos)
4. screaming and crying from the front seat ( me)
5. puke and mucus ( good times)
6. running frantically through Target looking for the “one that got away”
7. hearing “clean-up in isle 7” and knowing which child was responsible
8. grocery shopping with 2 in the cart, one in a front pack, and “oh,crap, where’s the oldest?” ( see #6)
9. watching every Disney movie so many times the songs and characters continue to haunt my dreams.
10. my bare feet stepping on plastic army men/Barbie shoes/ Legos/ action figures ( difficult to see when one is carrying a mountain of laundry)
11. helping with homework while simultaneously nursing and making dinner
12. brightly colored plastic things in every room of the house
13. not dining out because someone couldn’t sit down for more than 5 minutes at a time
14. driving to activity after activity after activity after activity after…”to infinity and beyond”
15. taking 10-15 minutes to harness, buckle, snap everyone into a car seat ( there was always a troublemaker who employed the evasive back-arching move)
“But Mom, don’t you remember the good times?” They ask after I rattle off the list of my fondest ( cough, cough ) memories.
Oh, sure! I lie. Lots of good times! But I have much better times now that you’re older.
The oldest is lucky! My brain wasn’t so mushy with him. I even kept a baby book, wrote in it diligently,chronicled every tooth, cute word, adorable behavior– for the first year.
Then sis came along. I bought a baby book for her, too. It has: 1) an ultra sound photo; 2) a shower invitation; 2) hospital newborn footprint; and 4) a 3rd grade photo.
Children 3 and 4 have no baby book. So sad.
Sometimes when all the kiddos are together they like to drag out the photo album. Taking photos wasn’t so simple then. One needed a camera..and film..and the film had to be developed. I’m surprised we have so many photos ( they enhance memory).
The time went by so fast! One day they’re in diapers and the next…
“Hey mom, who’s gonna change your diapers when you get old?”
You are!
The looks they give me? Priceless!
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