Memories are a big part of this
month's Bookmobile selection, CHARM & STRANGE by Stephanie Kuehn. Did
you ever have a childhood memory that you viewed differently as you got older?
(Any memory! Good ones too! Be creative.)
I have very few childhood memories, which is a little sad. I just have a terrible memory in general. Some memories I think aren't actually my own memories but ones I've created based on stories my family has told me or pictures I've seen. Now that I'm older, I don't think I view any of them differently than I did before. I can't think of anything I look at a different way than maybe I saw it as a child. The only thing is now that I'm an adult, the sting of certain things that happened as a kid isn't there anymore.
For example: I had some rotten birthday parties. My poor parents tried so hard to make my birthdays as a kid special. But no matter what, something went wrong with every single one from when I was around 6 to about 13 (which was my last party). And it wasn't my parents fault. In most cases, it came down to that one girl who just couldn't be happy, or who had to complain about everything we did, or who wanted all the attention for herself. Unfortunately for my own kids, this has soured my feelings towards birthday parties and we don't really have them. I let my kids pick at most three friends, and pick an activity- movie, restaurant, swimming, skating, or one time my son wanted to play Wii. These are still birthday parties, but not the big blowouts like a lot of the other kids have.
In this case, I don't think I view these memories any differently. The sting has worn off, obviously. But the memory itself is intact enough that I don't want my kids to have the same birthday party trouble as I did.
You know, I kinda feel bad writing this. Like I'm not being fair to my kids. On the other hand, I try my best to make their birthdays special without it being a huge money-spending, every-single-kid-at-school-invited kind of thing. And I think that's okay.
So, I don't know if I really answered the question, but there you have it anyway.
Oh, I hate birthday parties, too. You're not being unfair to your kids! There are lots of ways to celebrate that don't involve goodie bags and sheet cakes. It is always interesting how the past influences the future, though. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYeah, birthday parties are rough. I know kids want parties and what not, but I've had some real stinkers, so I view them with a very wary eye.
ReplyDeleteI think it's totally okay! Now that my girl is getting a little older (she's six) I'm going to start doing the "pick a few friends" thing, too. I think it's more meaningful, the activity can be a little more special, and the kids will probably remember it more than running around with twenty other kids, whacking a pinata.
ReplyDeleteAh, parenting... Isn't it fun? :-)
I have seen birthday parties where parents try to out do one another. For example one had a skating birthday party. One went to the movies. While others had sleepovers. These were the kind my oldest niece had. Myself I had family birthday parties. All my parties were barbecues cause of being born in summer.
ReplyDeleteI've had family parties. Others tried to outdo each other. My oldest niece went to a skating parties. She had many sleepovers.
ReplyDelete