This post is part of the #myfamilylens competition, sponsored by Olympus and part of #voicesof2014, organised by Kidspot. All images in this post have been taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M10. The prompt I have chosen is Memory.
When I was a new mum, I went to a mothers group run by the local early childhood health clinic. As we sat in a circle with our tiny, wriggly bundles, the midwife asked us to tell the rest of the group about a special childhood memory, and everyone spoke in turn; recounting adventures and escapades, and various rituals and routines that happened in their lives. The midwife then told us that was what our job was as Mums, to provide happy memories for our children. Mind blown! I thought this was brilliant. It's something that has always stayed with me, and I try to instill in my children to appreciate the moments in life, even the ones that are not so precious. I hope when they are older they will have lots of great things to remember.
The sense of taste is a rich source of memory, and I hope my children remember the many interesting and delicious meals I have cooked for them. I'm sure they will remember the times I insisted they at least try things they'd rather not, but hopefully they will also remember times like when I made passionfruit curd from all of the passionfruit in Nanny's garden. Or sorbet from mint and pineapple. Or ribs in the slow cooker, or homemade gravy, or crab straight out of the crab pot.
They might not remember the taste of green lipped mussels in garlic and wine with any fondness, but I do hope that one day when they are grown they catch a whiff of it in some restaurant, and remember that their mum made mussels like this for their kiwi dad, because that is exactly how he loved them.
Maybe Monkey Boy will remember the feeling of excitement he had when he was finally grown up enough to sleep on the top bunk? I hope he remembers this feeling when his own children beg for bunk beds.
Will the sight of blue and white cushions one day remind them of the time mum bought something nice for the house, and no one loved it more than the dog? I hope they don't remember me grumping that this is why we can't have nice things... but honestly. (Do you see the state of that leather!?)
They will definitely remember lots of visits to our dogs favourite park, the one with the fantastic climbing tree. They might not remember the history of the park, but that is something they can read about, it's not a memory they will remember in their heart. That memory belongs to someone else.
Will they remember what they where so thoughtful about, or will they instinctively seek the comfort of a tree's cool shade when, as adults, they need to think something important through?
They will remember this magnificent Umbrella Pine for the simple fact that I always tell them how much I love it. In fifty years from now they will take their grandchildren to a park and point out an Umbrella Pine, and say 'My mother used to love those!' I wonder if those grandchildren will remember that?
They will definitely carry memories of this secret paperbark pathway along the bottom of the park, anybody would. You can be completely hidden, and pretend you are a pirate, or a ninja, or a spy on a mission. The smell is amazing.
These Mango trees will be remembered for the few prized mangoes they collected that hadn't been nibbled at by fruit bats. They bring them home on summer mornings, triumphantly holding their hats full of mangoes. 'Look Mum! We outsmarted the fruit bats!'
Like everyone in this family, they have a soft spot for all dogs and will remember our dogs best friend, and the time shortly after this photo that he had a broken leg and couldn't play for a long time.
My feeling about memories is that they are like a root system, that anchors you to your family and your home. To your childhood. They can be weak, or strong with happiness. I hope the root system my children have is strong enough to anchor them their whole lives, and provide support and stability when they need it most.
They will remember the feeling of being loved, and that is what I wish for them more than anything else. The feeling of acceptance, the feeling of being able to rely on that absolute love and acceptance no matter what.
Growing, cooking and eating corn fresh from the garden is something they love, and the look of pride on their faces is a wonderful memory for me.
They will remember the sound of rain thrashing against the roof in storm season, and they might remember the anxious feeling they associated with it. Will they remember jumping into the safety of mum and dads bed to sleep? (side note: this is why I don't get any sleep)
They'll remember that this red cliff is how our town got it's name. They'll remember this rocky beach that isn't really great for swimming, but it does have a mysterious tunnel that they are not allowed to enter.
This post is part of the #myfamilylens competition, sponsored by Olympus and organised by Kidspot as part of #voicesof2014. I feel very privileged to participate! I have been provided with an amazing Olympus OM-D E-M10 to play with, and I absolutely love it. Using a DSLR camera is way outside of my comfort zone, in fact this is the first DSLR camera I have ever used, but this baby is so easy to navigate and so portable I could happily use it to take photos every day, and I have. I also love the WiFi connectivity, making it super easy to post high quality images across instagram, something else I love to do. It's been fantastic in helping me turn some wonderful moments into precious memories.
xx
