A Bushel and A Peck

We were walking through a store last Friday and I saw a little painted sign with a phrase on it. Instant memories from my childhood flooded my head. I knew I had to buy it and mail it to my mother. 

Painted on the sign were some of the words to a short saying I remember my great grandmother singing to me. "I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck, and a hug around the neck."

In the moment it was a smile and a burst of memories of her and her house. Bits and pieces, nothing in particular, no singular event, but the sights and sounds and smells. If I close my eyes I can still very vividly see rooms there as they were arranged and decorated, her garden, apple and plum trees behind her house, and the field we would cut across to walk over from our house. 

A couple of days went by and I thought about the sign again. This time it was less about those memories in particular and more about what I do and don't remember from my childhood. At just 32 I would like to think I still remember a fair amount of it. But do I? It seems like far more of the 'sights and sounds and smells' with sprinkles of being in the moment and recalling what was said or done. Details of familiar places are crystal clear, the rest.... Not really sure. Memory is a fickle thing. It lets you change things without even knowing. Romanticizing this, exaggerate that, it's easy. I can say with some certainty that I had a good sense of my surroundings as a child but maybe not so much what was happening. Usually lost in another one of those daydreams. 

As I started to think about what I did/didn't remember, I began to think about what Chelsea and Clayton, and when we eventually have a new baby, will remember. And what kind of memories I would like to try to give them. At 5 and 3 respectively, they are at a point where memories are being formed but may still be lost or replaced by new memories. (When Do Kids Form Their First Memories) But they most certainly remember things that are happening now or happened months ago and even years. Some great, some good, and some not so good. The more I give it thought the more I want them to be able to look back and say they have many more fond memories than bad. 

Its difficult to say what will form a lasting impression from one person to the next. Personally as I said above, it was more about hard sensory for me. The look of a room, a song sung by my grandmother, my mom's stew that you could smell from the street and you were instantly hungry. But for others it may not be this way. It could need to be presented visually so I'm starting to understand the need to take pictures. Not so much family portraits, there is a level of disdain there, but more candid or in-the-moment posed for pictures to look back on. It's not always easy with this group. Erin and Chelsea are not usually cooperative. 

Can't tell me the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. 

And even Biscuit gives me grief when she knows the camera is pointed at her. 

But Clayton? Oh Clayton can't get enough.

And that's the kind of memory I hope sticks with them. A big cheesy grin and a happy childhood.