Beyond ancient

I had a birthday last weekend, not a major milestone but a birthday nonetheless. I am 39 now.

My long-term memory isn't all that great, but I do remember some things. I remember when I couldn't even imagine being as old as I am now. When I was a teenager, 25 seemed old. 35 seemed ancient. I am now beyond ancient.

I have been alive for 39 years. It's hard for me to put it in perspective. 39 birthdays on the sixth of June. 39 summers of mosquitoes and thunderstorms. 39 leaves turning orange and brown in the fall. 39 carved pumpkins, 39 Thanksgiving turkeys and 39 Christmas trees. 39 endless winters of white and ice. 39 egg hunts and first spring robins. 39 lilac blooms, 39 blinking fireflies. And then another birthday, coming round again.

I remember when candy bars were 25 cents. Gas was 95 cents. I remember when computers first came out in stores, big plastic hulking boxes. Rotary telephones were standard. Audio tapes were the ultimate music recording device. Gas came in leaded and unleaded.

I remember when starting out a sentence with the words 'I remember when' meant that you were really, really old.

When you have children, birthdays begin to change. You pay more attention to your kids' birthdays than your own. The passing of time means more because they are getting older, not you. And you realize that Today is what they will be looking back upon when they get older. The Here and Now will become their 'I remember when.'

They will remember when candy bars were 75 cents and gas was $2.95. They will remember when computers had to be plugged into outlets and sat on top of desks. They will remember when phones had push buttons and music was recorded on disc and listened to with headphones. They will remember when cars ran on gas.

Instead of starting your sentences with 'I remember when', you begin to start them with 'I want my kids to remember.'

I want my kids to remember taking walks with their Mom out to the slough, down to the cemetary, through the alfalfa. Picking mulberries and making jam. Swimming and picnicking at the beach on the lake. Finding snakes and salamanders in the tall grass. Baby kittens born in the barn. Worms in the garden soil and planting squash seeds. Baking cookies and licking the dough off the spoon. Tireless games of hide-and-seek, pirates, treasure hunt, kings corners. Roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the bonfire and watching the first stars come out at dusk.