I may be revising my ideas on parenting, at the moment.
I thought about it the other day and frankly, I barely remember a single thing from when I was 4, I could have been locked in a box for all I know. Alain de Botton wrote an interesting piece for the BBC the other day, effectively saying that I'm actually spending my time building up my boy's general picture of the world; but do I HAVE to go the Transport Museum EVERY MONTH to do that?
It just doesn't seem fair - we float about doing all the lovely things one is supposed to do - picking berries, visiting museums, riding on trains, baking... he tells me he loves me, at last count, more than his buses - surely he'll remember THAT?
I suppose it makes some sort of sense however... The other day I was walking with one of his best friends while he rode beside us on our way home for a playdate:
'Mummy, Mummy Mummy look! Look Mummy, I'm not going to ride into the road' (crash). 'Ants live in holes you know. There are lots and lots of ants - see, there was one there, there, look there it went there' 'Mummy my horn isn't working properly, listen' phwarp porp squeeak 'wait there's another one, I think that's a red one' phwish yeek 'Max, if a red ant bites you, you DIE' phwonk phwonk PARP PARP 'Don't be silly Charlie' tweorp 'Charlie PLEASE that horn is giving me a headache 'but I'm fixing it, I'm fixing it' (CRASH) 'WAIT WAIT, stop it's a flying one, a flying one look, Charlie, a flying ant' 'Hold my bike Mummy, hold it, hold my bike Mummy, Mummy Mummy HOLD MY BIKE' (drops bike and runs back to Max, then runs back to his bike) 'Look there's an ant hole, did you see, did you see' peep peorp phupurb 'Max come on, Max, Max, Max, Max I'm winning come on' 'Charlie isn't being very nice racing his bike and look I think this is a different kind of ant hole' CRAAAAAAAASSSHHHH 'WAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' and there goes all the skin on my son's elbow.
So possibly the loss of memory has it's upside - for him, that is. He may forget all this stuff but sadly, it's going to be clogging up my neural pathways for some time to come.
Perhaps a box isn't such a bad idea?
3 comments:
I have quite afew memories of when I was four. Could be it was the first and only time I was "alone". Being the youngest of three girls "ages 4, 5, and 6"... I had always had someone to play with until that year.
I can only remember bad things... where in there was trouble I got into.
Getting a spanking for giving away my shoes....
Sitting in a dark barn in a dog box with the puppies waiting for our dog to get home and feed us....I couldn't reach the people food in the house.
Getting stuck on my biggest sisters big trike... I cried for what seemed like hours. I was in front of my house but a neighbor girl finally ran out of her house and got me down.
My mom was home, she was just used to my sisters looking after me.
I asked my oldest boy if he remembered me taking him to Paris when he was 6. He does. I also have a lot of memories, good and bad when I was six.
My boy is 40.
@eloh - I have quite a few memories from when I was 6 and one or two from before then, but not that many from 4 or earlier...
I love/hate the thought of you in the box with the puppies; am hoping it was more play than serious hunger there... I also hope that the dog didn't feed you... er...
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