This Life of Mine: Making Memories

One day a few weeks ago I was in the car looking out the window and I saw a little girl about 6 or 7 years old riding on the lawnmower with her daddy. Her blonde hair was flowing in the wind and she looked so happy and content. A flood of memories hit me. I used to be that little girl. If my daddy was outside, so was I. If he was fixing something or cutting grass or working in the yard, I was right behind him. Now those who know me probably won't believe this as true, but at one point I was a tomboy. I stayed outside all the time. Rode a three wheeler (yes, one of those dangerous machines that they quit selling). Enjoyed fixing things. Begged to cut the grass. I don't really know when all of that changed, but I'm sure it was around the time I started middle school:) Anyway, I was thinking about riding that lawnmower with my daddy and how Camden rode the lawnmower with my daddy and it made me very happy. I love when those warm memories come over me. I hope my kids will feel the same way someday.
We spent last week at Dauphin Island. It was wonderful. The kids played all day, busying themselves doing beachy things. Tyler fished from the dock and walked over to the beach and fished. Camden fished on the dock until I thought he would turn into one. I believe he would have stayed out on the dock until he literally passed out from tiredness. I watched my baby girl run into the ocean for the first time. Oh how she was in heaven! Scared me to death, but not her! She squealed with happiness when she fell into the water and the waves crashed over her head. So different from my cautious Camden. He wouldn't go near the water when he was her age. We spent lazy days out on the deck, hanging out with family, fishing, playing in the sand, and walking to the beach. It was probably the most relaxed I have been in a long, long time. Now we are back home and the only thing left from the beach trip are the memories, a few pictures, the stench of fish in the garage from the buckets and cast nets, a little boy with a great tan and some really blonde hair, and a video of a little girl screaming with joy in the ocean. And hopefully, one day, they will see something that reminds them of special times with their momma and daddy, and their hearts will be just as full as mine was when I saw the little blonde girl on the lawnmower.