Memories

My sister is getting married in 7 weeks. And as the time grows closer and closer I start thinking about mum and dad.

I was chatting with dad a couple of weeks ago and he mentioned that he missed the time when all us kids were home. We would play together and keep each other entertained throughout the school holidays. Dad would take over to the oval and we would play cricket. At our birthday parties dad would organise the games…but I’ll never forgive him when at my 5th birthday party, for the treasure hunt, instead of hiding lollies, he hid peanuts. All the kids teased me.

As dad was talking about how he missed having us all home, he said that he is trying to really enjoy the stage of life that he is at now. He has 2 grandchildren on the way, and his 3rd child is getting married. He said that he doesn’t want to dwell on the past, but that he is enjoying life where it is. As much as he misses the past, it is in the past. There is no point living in the past and missing out on the present.

I’m not really sure what the point of this post is. Thinking about my sister has just gotten me thinking I guess. I was thinking about the speech I will have to make at the wedding, and I was remembering my childhood with all my brothers and my sister. It was such an amazing time. We weren’t perfect by any means, but I still think we got along a lot better than some families I know. I miss being able to play ‘barbies’ with my sister. Constantly swapping Ken dolls and boyfriends but then eventually settling down and getting married. I miss closing off the hallway, turning off all the lights, grabbing all our pillows and doonas and playing some game where we had to get from one end to the other. Girls against boys…sigh…I got paired with Kate (obviously) she was weak ;) I don’t think we ever won.
I miss laughing at my brother who would hide under a box and see how long he could stay under there for. This was mums favourite game for the boys to play during school holidays. I seem to remember Robert staying under a box for around 3 hours (his record) without moving or speaking. It was great…we didn’t really have to worry about him! I miss going to the park for a drive with dad (mum wasn’t allowed to come) and he would do donuts or drive over stumps and we didn’t have to wear seatbelts (he was going a max of 10kph)…it was fun bumping around!! I miss going with mum and dad wood chopping in winter and getting to spend the day in the bush running around inventing our own games.

But, I can’t stay back in the past. The truth is…my sister is getting married! My brother is becoming a dad!! I’m becoming a mum!!! It all just feels so surreal. The truth is my sister isn’t going to play ‘barbies’ with me anymore, and my brother isn’t going to sit under a box while his wife is getting dinner ready (at least I hope he doesn’t anyway!). We have ‘grown up’ and life changes. We need to appreciate where we are at this current time.

We need to appreciate everything that comes along with getting married, the good and the bad. We need to appreciate the time we have left together as a couple before children come along. As tough as some circumstances seem, they are part of the package. There will always be stresses at weddings, but there is also much joy! We need to appreciate the fact that God is with us every step of the way in life. He isn’t sitting in the past where the ‘good times’ seem to stay, He isn’t way off in the future where we can’t reach him. He is here with us every single day, past present, and future.