It is funny how you forget things that happen in your parenting life. Big things, sometimes. Transitions happen, the kids grow, your life as a family changes and moves on to other things, maybe you (all) get busier. I often have "Oh yeah, I remember that, now that you (fellow mom or dad) are telling that story" moments. A new mom will be talking about the iPhone playlist they always listen to before baby's bedtime and suddenly I will be transported back 5 years to when Ben and Lily were babies. Jeff and I would put on a CD at 5pm EVERY NIGHT without fail that was a gift from my sister. She had made the CD for her daughter's 1st birthday, with lovely lullabies (Shawn Colvin's The Night Will Never Stay) and some fun stuff too (Bare Naked Ladies La-La-La-La-Lemon).
As I was reading The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman, a memoir about a mother who takes her child to Mayan healers in Belize to banish her daughter's imaginary friend, Dodo, I recalled that Ben and Lily had an imaginary friend. His name was "Christian." And I even wrote about him on this blog a few years ago... you can read about him here. I had actually completely forgotten about Christian until I was about halfway through the book. For me, this was just a phase that passed. It WAS strange that twins seemed to need an imaginary friend. I mean, isn't it enough that they have each other?
I'm not sure I would have gone to the lengths that Hope did to banish her daughter's imaginary friend, but then again, I am not an overly worrying type of parent. I do figure that most things, they will grow out of. "This too shall pass" is a phrase that comes to mind. And, as a parent of six-year-old twins now and a three-year-old, maybe I have forgotten (like so many other things!) how much I worried as a somewhat new parent.
I certainly identify with Hope's love for her child....she describes it beautifully. "Mi vida" indeed. What wouldn't a mother do, when she is worried for her child?
This post is inspired by the SV Moms Group Book Club. I received a copy of the book from the publisher for review in connection with the book club, but was not obligated to post about the book.
