On the Other Side of the Wall: Making Memories Part One

   In June we took a homeschool field trip to a place I went to as a child: Oliver's Candies. I remember walking there with my grandmother when I was about eight years old. It was a small store with a counter, a cash register and a few shelves along the wall displaying a variety of chocolates. Today the store has expanded to even house an ice cream shop and they are making renovation plans to move the heavy machinery for the chocolate making to another location to allow more space for the store. We learned they ship chocolates all over the world and just shipped to Norway. Wow! How cool is that? The little place Grandma took me to has turned into a full fledged  home-made chocolate factory. My grandparents would be so proud! They brought those chocolates to nearly every family gathering and all of us feel nostalgic when we hear the name Oliver's Chocolates. After our tour and candy shopping I drove past my grandparents' house which is now a light gray color instead of mint green. I pointed to the front porch where we used to hang out when the weather was nice. The square milk box to the right of the front door was still there and I explained how the milk was delivered and put in there. As we drove down the road we passed the school playground where my siblings and I used to swing on the swings whenever we visited. A mile down from there we ate our picnic lunch at a park with friends in the shade of acres of enormously tall trees. I really loved being there in the town where I spent so many holidays growing up. Now my children have been there too and it just feels right. That's what's so great about making memories with our loved ones. We create places in our minds and hearts that just feel right and feel at home with the remembrance of those people we lived life fully with in those moments.
   This past week on the 4th of July was my niece's graduation party. She and her family traveled in from out of town to celebrate with the majority of our extended family that lives in Upstate NY. My kids had been counting down the days for about a month looking forward to seeing their cousins. Throughout that day, I'm sure a thought that came across each of the adults' minds was how time had gone by. When I look back at all the holidays, dinners, graduations, weddings, picnics I have spent with family I am thankful for the memories we have made. No, we don't see eye to eye on everything. But over the years we have gathered. We have celebrated. We have come together as family.
   When you have little children you are getting through each day as it comes. You are living so much in the hour to hour and day to day that you can't really think about even a year from then and what you and your kids will be doing. You are are consumed with keeping your little ones safe and happy through the bumps and bruises, the tears and laughter of early childhood. Now I am just barely past those days, with my youngest turning six soon and we are approaching the next phase with our kids. Making memories is a big part of life from here on out. As the cousins pulled out of our driveway after a week full of fun and drove around the bend there were instant tears from my oldest. Her big week of the cousins here was coming to an end. She will cherish every second they spent jumping into the pool, hiking in the woods, swimming in the lake, painting rocks, eating popsicles, painting nails, baking macaroons, watching fireworks, making music, shopping, playing games together. Making time for each other is important for the next group of cousins coming up. It's our job as the current group of adults, to continue making it all happen for our kids until they are parents and get to carry the baton for their families.