Your Home is the Holder of a Myriad of Memories

Everyone can agree that any house with children is a busy one. There’s no shortage of laundry, mess, or noise. On one of my late night up alone excursions (anytime you find time to be alone when you have children is like going on an excursion), I had some time to think.

The house was a totally silent work of art and this was the perfect time to enjoy it. There was no need to ‘fear the silence’ as most people residing in a child inhabited home has done all over the world. You know the formula- silence+child=trouble. All was well in the McKenzie household. The children were peacefully asleep as well as my husband. The dog was curled up with me as I lay on the couch watching the hilarities being displayed in the reruns of the TV sitcom Family Matters. The cat didn’t need anything so he didn’t care what I was doing as long as I didn’t disturb him.

Looking at the silly antics on TV, I began to think about all the funny things that go on in my home on a daily basis. First, I began comparing the difference in behavior between that of my cat and dog. My dog thought he was a huge 70 pound cat on most days and my cat thought he was an 11 pound compact pit bull on others. Their personalities were like night and day. My dog was always affectionate and my cat only displayed affection, annoyingly so I might add, when he wanted you to know that his food bowl was empty or, at least, what he considered empty. Together they are a modern-day Tom and Jerry or Roadrunner and Wile E coyote duo. One is always chasing the other. Which usually starts with the dog trying to greet the cat the way dogs greets anyone. Unfortunately for him, the cat is not fond of anyone sniffing in his ‘backyard’ and he is very animated in letting the dog know this.

Those two alone can give you hours of laughs but what about the rest of my crew? I did a mental review of days past and concluded that my house has seen many eventful times. If it could talk, oh the tales it would tell. Each member of my immediate family has contributed their share of fun and laughter throughout the years. The invisible eyes of my home, I am sure, has laughed until it cried and shielded its vision because the outcome couldn’t be good.

Children have such a fantastical way of adding charm to a home. My oldest son, for instance, thought it would be appropriate to rub ketchup on the cat. His reasoning was that he wanted to prove that the dog would not eat him. Hypothesis proven true. This same dog had a whole jar Vaseline rubbed on her. (This was our first dog, in case you noticed a change of gender from above. She, sadly, passed on at the ripe old age of 16 a few years ago). We still have not been able to determine what my oldest daughter’s reasoning was for that one. My youngest daughter was the queen of getting her head stuck between the bars of the banister. Finally, my youngest son developed a foot fetish before he developed his motor skills for walking. He had very strict rules. If you had pretty feet, you were allowed to pick him up. How did he know what your feet looked like? He would, wordlessly demand that you take your shoes and socks off so that he could see them. An example of how serious he was; he would not let my sister pick him up if she did not have socks on and her feet really weren’t that bad. He just had higher standards for the toes.

People who are fortunate enough to grow up (or survive) living in a house with children have the greatest stories ever to be told. The smallest things can make the best memories. I think I will always give an embarrassed laugh when I see a particular friend of the family who once wore a purple suit to my son’s 1st birthday party. He was greeted by the excitement of a child who has just received the biggest bestest gift in the whole entire world. My oldest son ran over, hugged him super tight and called him Barney… the Dinosaur! That was probably the first time he had ever spoken with such clear precision.

Even with the embarrassing moments, I wouldn’t change the times I’ve had with my children. These are the memories that I will enjoy retelling for infinity. It’s not always easy, but even in your most difficult times any moment spent with your family are memories in the making. Try to enjoy every moment you have with them. They don’t last forever and you don’t realize it until that moment is gone.