I’ve spent quite a bit of time during this quarantine trying to organize different aspects of my life. I’ve spent time sorting through clothes, cleaning out drawers and cabinets, organizing my teaching notes and teaching materials for the different arts that I teach. I’ve also spent some time putting together my two-year-old’s baby book – FINALLY! This has brought me great joy.
I’ve worried about the fact that with four kids and my jobs I have very little time to do things like baby books. I work very hard to create special memories for my family and I try to pay attention to the everyday memories that pop into life. But so much of the time I feel like those memories are slipping away. My kids are growing so fast and I feel like if I can just stash away some of those memories then maybe I can keep them little just a bit longer.
I have even slacked on getting pictures made! Sadie-Rae is nearly two-and-a-half and I still haven’t had her two-year pictures made. Not to mention that we haven’t had family portraits since I was pregnant with Sadie-Rae. I haven’t ordered any prints in years so even the pictures that have been made aren’t displayed. That is on my quarantine to-do list; sort and order prints and get them displayed in my house. I also hope to get some memory items, like calendars and such, made and put prints from the last several years into albums. I’ve even contacted my photographer to start making plans for a family portrait.
I love family pictures! I love looking at them and remembering how cute the kids were at the various ages of the pictures. I love remembering what we were doing about that time and the fun we had at our different events and adventures. If I can ever get them printed and displayed I will feel a little more capable of holding on to those memories.
Something else I’d like to start is a journal. I don’t really have time to sit down and write everything out but I’m considering starting a bullet journal. I’ve thought about journaling for years but I’ve never taken the plunge and started one. I knew I’d get a few days into it and then get behind on other tasks and wouldn’t document things the way I wanted. Frustration would set in and I would give up. Then I discovered the idea of a bullet journal, so hopefully I can preserve some of those precious memories I have of my family.
Now that I have the time to preserve our memories, I’m hoping that we can create some memories a little more often, too. While some of those events will be big events like family vacations, graduations, and recitals… I hope that we will have many simple family memories as well. I want to look back and remember family game nights, hiking trails, day trips to Nashville and surrounding areas. I want to be able to remember us all laughing together and spending quality time with one another.
I also want my children to look back on their childhood and remember how blessed they are to have the family they have. I want my kids to always remember how loved they are. I think it is these family memories that help to make childhood special.
Especially during the hard or scary times. If we can remember to take some time and spend it with the ones we love – no matter how busy we get, or what is going on in the world – then our children will look back at their memories and see that they were loved no matter what was happening. Maybe they will even learn a little lesson on how to handle some of the more trying times. By taking some time to stop and enjoy each other, we set an example for our loved ones. The example that says, “It’s never too hard or too scary to love each other and cherish the times we have together with them.”
So I hope that you are able to spend some quality time with your family making memories this June. We may still be in the midst of these unprecedented times with COVID-19, but you can still make some precious memories. (It doesn’t take much – just a board game, a hiking trail, or even something as simple as a firepit.) Memories that your family will treasure for the rest of their lives. Happy Memory Making! See you in July.
-by Kari Carr
About the Author: Kari doesn’t claim to be a parenting expert, just a mom to her four wonderful children and wife to the love of her life, Mike. Together they move through the ups and downs of raising kids in this crazy world. She struggles through the trials and joys of raising children from the ages of two to 15 years old. Kari received her degree at WKU and taught public middle school music and choir for seven years before opening her own business, Sound Beginnings Musikgarten & Vocal Studio. She lives and works in Bowling Green.
