As moms, we are the conductors of our children’s childhood. Does that feel like a large responsibility? Am I the only one that pictures my children sitting with a therapist when they are adults, talking about what an average childhood they had? I don’t want my children’s childhood to be average. I want it to be magical.
I am fully aware that many successful adults didn’t have magical childhoods. I was fortunate enough to have a magical childhood and it wasn’t because we were rich or famous or exceptional in any way. We were an average family living in an average home taking average vacations, but for some reason, I find that a lot of the decisions I make as a parent are just my way of chasing my own childhood for my kids.
In quiet moments or in moments when I am triggered by a sound, sight, or smell, those magical childhood moments are back in my mind, and I find myself trying to recreate them for my own children. Sometimes they are interested in my magic and sometimes they are not. At times, I am irritated that they don’t see the magic in the things I did as a child, but I have to remember that my children are not me. They aren’t going to have emotional responses to things the same way that I did as a child. Will that stop me from chasing my childhood for them? I’m not a quitter!
Here is the childhood magic that I will always chase:
I will always chase the magic of a Friday night. Homemade pizza, brownies, a string of family favorite shows on the TV, and maybe even a sleepover with a real sleeping bag.
I will always chase the magic of a summer night in June. Playing whiffle ball with my family where the patio corner was 1st base, the oak tree was 2nd base, and the laundry line pole was 3rd base. When the sun went down, we threw our bats and balls down and began catching lightning bugs in a jar.
I will always chase rainy Saturdays at the library. Sitting crisscross applesauce in the Nancy Drew and The Babysitter’s Club aisle while my mom chose the books she would check out. Running my hands down the row of books, pulling out the ones that looked interesting, and choosing my books for the week based on the covers.
I will always chase September school nights when homework was done in the backyard. When my feet were bare, and I’d dig them into the grass until the cold grass made my feet numb and the dark sent me back inside.
I will always chase summer vacation in Myrtle Beach. It was always one week and always at the same place. It was the only one we had all year, but it’s still the vacation I chase for my family as an adult.
Lastly, I will always chase the security and love that I felt in my childhood. The knowledge that a parent was always in the stands, always a phone call away, and always my biggest fan is a non-negotiable childhood memory that I will always pursue.
One day, our grown children will long for the simple magic of their own childhood. I sure hope I’m around to see the childhood memories that they chase.
If your childhood was magical like mine, are you still chasing it?
