When you were a baby, I wanted to try to memorize your face. I would pick moments and stare at you and wonder if this would be the time that I remember. I guess it finally worked one day when Mom took you in the stroller for a walk down the street in front of our house. As you and Mom came down the street, I tried to memorize your face. That was the moment that worked because that was the moment that I remember!
I didn't try to memorize this moment but it was one that has stuck. It was your first day of Kindergarten. You were excited because you had gone to meet your teacher earlier that week. When we pulled up to the school, you got a worried look on your face and confided in me that you didn't think you could find your classroom. I parked the car and we walked in together. On the second day of school, I parked the car again, not because you couldn't find your way to your classroom, but because I enjoyed walking with you. Well that turned into a habit and I walked you into school every day that year!
I often think about your birthdays, how they would fall on hot summer days. Often, you had a swimming party. All morning long I would be working in a dark office looking forward to going to your swimming party in the afternoon. I probably looked forward to you birthday parties as much as you did.
As you got older and I realized that you would soon be going off to school, I started to try to memorize moments again. I guess I was successful in memorizing our drives to semenary in the morning because those are moments that I remember. I enjoyed our talks and our time together early in the morning.
One last moment that I didn't try to memorize but somehow got stuck in with the rest is the "Spaghetti Incident". It was Sunday and you wore a beautiful shear pink dress to church. After church we had "dinner on the grounds". Spaghetti was served. For some reason the spaghetti was very slippery on the paper plates. I was being so careful not to let it slide off my plate. But when I was in the hall, the inevitable happend and my spaghetti went flying. Unfortunately, you were standing right under me. The spaghetti went all over your dress. It was a mess! You weren't upset at all. Maybe you realized that you couldn't be the one in trouble for this mess. Anyway, we rushed home and rinsed the spaghetti out of the dress (it all came out) and returned to church in a new outfit.
Speaking of church, I cherished the times when I would be sitting in the foyer and you would come and sit on my lap and cuddle. Now I'm talking teenager! I knew you were a loving girl and I'm sure your dear sweet husband has learned that as well as your cute little boy.
All my love on your 25th
Dad
