Beyond Words

“Nostalgia is a denial of the painful present.”  Midnight in Paris movie

I was watching the movie “Midnight in Paris” recently and that quote struck me.  As many of you know, I’m a very nostalgic person but not because my present is painful.  I’m just very sentimental.  I have many friends who are as well, and my friend Liza is the perfect example. 

I’ve known Liza for 15+ years now and have always loved being around her.  She is funny, she is talented, she is genuine, and she’s a great mom.  All of this has now made her somewhat famous.

Liza’s son Grant recently got married, and at his rehearsal dinner she gave him a lamp.  It wasn’t just any lamp though, it’s something she’s been making for him literally his whole life.  The lamp, pictured above,  is one of those hallow glass lamps you can fill with whatever you want.  Liza, the crafty and clever mom that she is, filled it with the treasures she collected out of his pockets before doing his laundry.  She did this as a subtle punishment for not empyting his pockets.   What she ended up with years later were treasures; treasures dating back to his early, early childhood!  Grant loved it so much he posted a picture of it on-line and now Liza and Grant are certified viral!  “The Huffington Post” wrote a blurb on it.  “Yahoo Trending” interviewed them both!  And, it’s even on Pinterest!  The lamp now sits in Grant’s office and he and his wife plan to do the same thing for their future kids.  All this, my friends, because Liza is nostalgic.

I’ve never been as creative as Liza, but I still am surprised at myself for doing something similar for my daughter Kristen.  On her very first birthday, I bought a somewhat “grown up” card about “watching you grow throughout the years.”  Every year on her birthday, I’d write a note detailing the previous year.  I never let her see those notes though, until her 18^th birthday, when I gave it to her.  Even she, the non-nostalgic daughter of mine, teared up reading it.  From pacifiers to prom dates; it’s all in there.  It’s still hard for me to read.  It’s also hard for me to watch the graduation video music montage my friend Ana’s son Max made for her graduation.  I remember my husband and I listening to the music from it driving away after dropping her off at college for the first time.  We lasted about two songs before we realized it wasn’t such a great idea!

A recent popular trend right now is to have every teacher in your child’s life write in Dr. Seuss’ book “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” and give it to them for graduation.  I love that idea!  Scrapbooks are also all the rage, something I never really got into.  I much prefer this t-shirt quilt Ana made for Kristen for her graduation.  It is beautiful and has t-shirts from her entire life! 

I also like looking at the photos I take of Kristen’s hand on top of her dad’s on each of her birthdays.  My hope is to complete the collection with one from her wedding.

In today’s busy world of shuffling kids off to practices and recitals, sometimes it’s hard to take the time to really and truly document their little lives.  It’s never too late to start!

I would love to know if you’ve created something unique for your kiddos.  Do share!

“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”  Native American wisdom.