31 Days of Lessons Learned: Day Sixteen
Memories come in all shapes and sizes
Each night, my wife and I talk about our daughter and how much fun we have as parents. We talk about how much she’s grown in the past two and a half years, and all of the memories we’ve had along the way. Sure, we have memories of all of her milestones: first words, first steps, first time using the potty, and the like, but something happened last night that made me realize that I need to make sure I give equal weight to the little moments because those moments may just be the most memorable long-term.
Before I go into what happened last night, here’s my one quick piece of parenting advice: Don’t wish your child older. Why? Well, it’s simple. As Lily grows, I’m finding that her current development period is my favorite. Why rush it when the ride is so memorable? Your kid will grow up a lot quicker than you expect, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
OK, back to last night. My wife was making dinner and there was about an hour before it was ready. I wanted to head up to Vault of Midnight (the best comic shop I’ve ever been to) to pick up Batman #13. I’ve been waiting patiently for this issue and it was finally out. I figured it would be fun for Lily to come, so I parked about four blocks away (free parking) and we started walking.
There we were, hand in hand, singing the ’60s Batman TV theme song, on our way to pick up that comic. When we got there, she was very interested in the action figures and the comics…pointing out her favorite heroes (Batman and Spider-Man). She also made sure I got issue #13 and serenaded the folks in the store with the ’60s Batman theme on our way out.
After our fun visit to the comic shop, we then made a quick surprise visit to grandma Cyndi’s store, Lily Grace Cosmetics (catchy name, huh?) and headed home.
Oh, I also have to mention that we did all this while Lily wore a cupcake stocking hat and a pink spiky backpack…that’s just how we roll.
My daughter, the Koopa Troopa
Even though this little trip to the comic shop was such a small event in the grand scheme of my daughter’s growth, I’m never going to forget it. I had so much fun from start to finish: we talked, we sang, we ran, we hopped, we got to go look at comics, we saw grandma…if that’s not the making of a good memory, I don’t know what is.
Just remember, no matter how big or small, don’t take the opportunity to make a memory for granted.
