Sweet Memories

This morning my daughter Morgan wanted to make toast for breakfast, however she didn't want to have to go through all the trouble of turning on the oven, preheating the oven, toasting one side of her toast, and then toasting the other side. In her 14 year old mind, that was entirely too much work and would take away from the enjoyment of eating her toast. Spoiled? Naaah.

Anyway, I remembered that I had received a toaster oven for Christmas one year, but had not been using it because it took up so much room on the cabinet. I told her to go retrieve it from the attic and she could use it to cook her toast, the easy way. She came downstairs without the toaster oven, but instead had found a VHS video case labeled "My First Year", which was a recording of the entire first year of her life.

For the next hour, my three children and I laid on the bed and laughed until we cried. It was a typical first time mom type video - one where we would watch the baby for ten minutes, just laying there. Then we would watch the baby coo. Then we would watch the baby turn her head. Then we would watch the baby cry... and so on. Every "first" was recorded, from baths, to swimming pools, to birthday parties. Every minute of her little life was too precious to miss.

It brought back so many sweet memories of the beginning of my little family, and reminded me of how grateful I was to have this little baby in my life. But also - a lot of other memories were stirred.. ones which had been misplaced over a period of years.

My eyes burned with tears as I saw my grandmother celebrating Morgan's first Christmas, as she played on the little baby bed that my Grandmother had crafted hand-made iolet blankets and pillows for. The sound of her voice was such a sweet memory. She had died when Morgan was eighteen months old.

I watched as my husband's Grandfather and Aunt, both of whom passed away way too early due to unusual tragedies, laughed and talked with the family.

I watched my sweet sister, beautiful, healthy and happy, years before she was diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis.

Although many of the memories were fun to revisit, and it was interesting to see the strange choices of hairstyles and clothes that we all had, it also was a reminder of how life changes, and how short it truly is.

When all those experiences were recorded fourteen years ago, things were so different. People were so there. Lives were so in tact. But life changes. We never know what God has in store.

It was a reminder to me, to treasure the people in my life and not ever take them for granted. Tell my loved ones that I love them every day. Love people with a forgiving and loving heart, and not an attitude of self.

Now my son and other daughter are jealous since we watched all of Morgan's first year, so soon we will be watching their baby videos, and I'm sure all of those feelings and memories will come pouring down on my heart again.

Have you had something happen to you lately that you reminded you of special memories and times in your life? I would love to hear about them!

Got any suggestions for how to keep those memories alive for years to come? I would love to hear about those too!