The Importance of Memories

My mother recently visited her mother in West Virginia. Since she got back I have seen a change in her. My grandfather died a few years ago and at the end he remembered no one. My grandmother has started doing the same thing. With my mom having the brain tumor last year she has also started to forget things. I think all of these things combined has really scared her. My two sisters and I received Christmas gifts from her that made us all cry. For years my mother has kept papers and pictures and things from our childhood. I had no idea that she kept those things. On Christmas morning I opened a gift that made me cry the hardest I have cried in a while. Inside was crafts I had done in school. Papers and awards. The most precious things was my baby book. I did not even know she had kept one for me. It brought back so many childhood memories. She also included a journal that she had started. The first seven pages included memories she had of my childhood. At the end was a challenge to keep memories of my children. She asked me to fill the journal with what my days are like. She said even if I write that I had a bad day and leave it at that. Now I admit I am a writer. I love it. It is my passion. These past few years though my life has been full of diapers and schooling and the taking care of my little ones. My moms gift and challenge though has really struck a cord with me. I need to write down the little things. I need to do this so my children have their own memories that they can pass on to their children and grandchildren. Traditions need to be passed down from one generation to another. My mother told me that I need to record them because one day I will start to forget. I am convicted that I have not been diligent about this. I get so caught up in the day to day that I don't record the special times I have with my wonderful children. My mother has given me a challenge this year and I intend to take up that challenge. I think it is a good one for all of us take.