I'm a hoarder...of a different type.

My first memory is when I was 3. 

Michael Jackson's Thriller had just come out and everyone was head over heels in love with it.  We lived in a two story house at the time and my one brother was watching the video on tv, my other brother was listening to it on the radio, and my mom was upstairs listening to a tape of it. 

Let me reiterate, I was 3.  Thriller was scary.  I was trying to run away from Thriller but Thriller was EVERYWHERE.

I told myself for 20 plus years that it was a nightmare until my mom told me that it really happened.

Hence, I don't like Michael Jackson.  Iconic music superstar he may be, but childhood bad memory he was for sure. 


My husband on the other hand, can't remember anything before he was about eight.  It drives his mom and dad CRAZY (which is TOTALLY understandable.)  They will remind him of things and he looks at them with a blank stare as if they are making it up.

And so I wonder what my kids' first memory will be.  I've been told by other moms that doing some of these things I do won't matter because my kids won't remember them.  But what if they do?  And I will for sure...and regardless if they remember them, I always will. 

So yes, I'm proud to admit it:  My name is Melissa and I am a memory hoarder.

I know that my son probably doesn't remember the time that I ran up to an oncoming freight train to stop the engineer so I could ask him if he would take Luke onto the train.  The nice engineer, decked out in overalls and everything, humored me and invited Luke and I onto the train.  Luke even got to ring the bell!

I know that my twins probably won't remember how I would lay one of them on either side of me and we would read The Night You Were Born every single night before bed.  They would wiggle their toes and giggle like they had never head it before even though it was the 5000 time I had read it.  By the end of that period of time, I had the book memorized.

I know that Lily probably won't remember how she played in the mud pit in our backyard until she was covered from head to toe and then jumped in the brand new swimming pool filling it with muddy water.  I knew then that I had a daredevil who had no fear on my hands.  Oh, and in case you were wondering - that was the last day of the mud pit as well.  DISGUSTING.

I know Will won't remember when he was born and had to be life flighted to the NICU but I drove an hour each way to visit him three times a day.  I would sit there and hold my sweet baby enjoying every last minute I had with him as a treasured gift.

I know my kids probably won't remember when I let them take finger paint and draw all over their bodies so they could see, feel, and even taste (yes, I know it's gross, but isn't it inevitable with kids?) their art project.

I know my kids probably won't remember the first time we made homemade pizza, everything from scratch and we were so proud of our accomplishments.

Yes, I am a memory hoarder.  I want my kids to remember their childhood's as being fun and full of great memories.  Even if their memories are from when they were 2.5 or 8, I want them to be memories they treasure....

And thank goodness they don't have to worry about Michael Jackson.