Yearbooks!
Having two tween daughters (one of which officially becomes a teen tomorrow night) I have been knee deep in lots of girly drama. A lot of so and so doesn't like me anymore and I don't know why. Or she says I'm not a good friend because I didn't go to her birthday party. Every single thing is a huge deal and the end of the world and then before I know it they are all talking again and life is grand. Ahhh, so many memories. I am remembering a few times in my youth where there were these petty little fights about things. But what I am trying to get my girls to realize is one day all of this stuff will be so meaningless.Enter Mom's Yearbooks
Someone I know wanted to see some old pictures of me from when I was a child so they could try to figure out who my kids look most like. So when I was looking for my old photo albums I came across a couple of middle school yearbooks and my highschool yearbook. Even a college yearbook was in there too. My kids were very intrigued by this look into my past. Reading all of the notes that were written to me in my yearbook. Learning what people thought of me when I was their age.
And you know what? Half of the people who signed my yearbook I don't even remember. When my oldest daughter would ask why did so and so say this I had NO IDEA! Some things I remember like chewing gum in my reading class and never getting caught. Or the boy that I started dating the end of my 7th grade year who told me in my yearbook to call him everyday. They are shocked that I dated someone besides their daddy. And they want me to search for him on Facebook. I also remember what a jerk he was to me when he broke up with me and I have no desire to look him up.
Even stuff I said in my highschool year book or people wrote to me I don't remember. Some of it I do, but most of it I don't. I graduated highschool nearly 16 years ago.
A Lesson To Be Taught
I figured I would be remiss if I didn't make it a point to show my girls how what I thought was important at the time is completely lost on me now. Even the people I thought I would be friends with forever I grew apart from. A few of them I have connected with on Facebook, but we haven't gotten together. We don't even talk on a regular basis.
Not that I don't think my daughters problems are very real and very important at this time. I just would like them to see that in the grand scheme of things that is life these spats will likely be forgotten two decades from now. It is always important to be true to yourself, but life goes on. My 7th grade boyfriend who I thought was so cute and so sweet turned out to be none of the above. All of my experiences led me to where I am today of course and I can't totally discount them, but there is always good on the horizon. And that's what I hope they can try to focus on. The good that is to come because I see bright futures for all of my children.
Do you think you remember all those things from your childhood that you thought at the time was just the best or funniest or most heartbreaking thing to have happen to you?
