Memories

Memories, we all have memories of things and events in our lives. Even though I would never have my ex-wife back I have recently tried to impress upon her the importance of spending time with our kids. The importance of building fond memories for the kids to look back on. Trace Adkins a country music singer has a single out titled "Your gonna miss this". The lyrics go something like this:

You're gonna' miss this

You're gonna' want this back

You're gonna' wish these days Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna' miss this

I for one have looked at life a lot lately. My sister wrote in her blog about spending time with us at the Galley in Decatur Indiana recently. I rarely pass up an opportunity to spend time with family. I enjoy these times and I realize some day I will wake up and things won’t be the same. For my kids I try to spend every day with them and make fond memories for them. I have fond memories from my child hood. I always loved it when mom and dad took us to the park. We would visit Foster, Sweeney, or Frankee park. I like the zoo too, but the park was the most fun. I think it was Sweeney were we had the squirrel that would come up to the car and beg for French fries. I remember how mom would always make us something simple for lunch and cook something good for dinner when dad got home. How we would gather around the TV at night to watch shows together. After I was older my dad and I would go to play basketball at the park on Saturday evening and Sunday evenings. I miss those times and wish I could have them back.

Today I spend quality time with my kids. We do things they like to do when I am with them. I have tried over the years to capture some of the things that happened with my digital camera and camcorder so that I have the memories to look at. I try to do something one-on-one with each child, as it will build that special memory that will last it a lifetime. With my son with the exception of last year, we have gone to Deshler Ohio for a railfan trip. I have loved trains ever since I was a kid and now I like them even more than ever. When we first started this trip it stared out about trains. I would do the train thing and my son would ride his three wheeler and play with toys. We might move to the Bloomdale park that was beside the tracks and he would play there. Then as he got to be older it got to be more of a father and son outing and less about trains. Just he and I spending time together. Today I doubt he will find Bloomdale very interesting. It is a small park. He will most likely be more into trains, but I could be wrong. I still think it will be about the one-on-one time with me.

As for my daughter I have opted to take her to the zoo or a park when we have our one-on-one’s. She seems to enjoy it and it is closer to home. This last summer she met up with another little girl named "Ashley" and my daughter’s name was "Ashley". The other parent’s daughter was exactly one year and one day younger than my Ashley. Needless to say my daughter had a friend at the zoo for as long as her mother would allow her to. It made for a special day for her. I am not going to post photo of the two of them I took as it was of my daughter and someone else’s child.

For me it boils down to this, what do I want to remember. How do I want my kids to remember me. They will only be young once and I only get one chance to do it right. There are no "Do-overs" in lie. As Trace Adkins says: "you’re gonna miss this, you’re gonna want this back, you’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast….."

Below is a link to the video for your listening and viewing pleasure to a video for this song.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/trace-adkins/217378/youre-gonna-miss-this.jhtml