Preserving Memories that Should Probably Be Forgotten

There are certain parts of a vacation that you'll look back on years in the future and remember clearly. Like the time Micah first saw Woody in the Disney parade and his little world stopped so abruptly that several people around him were affected. I won't ever forget that. But there are other times that you just laugh about and then forget in the blur and haze. Things that don't have photographic evidence to back up their existence. Things that you'd rather not forget, but will eventually.

Like the fact that last Monday at the airport, Micah knew exactly where we were and what we were doing. That's not surprising because he's been there once before and there were planes all over the tarmac and he's not an idiot. What was surprising is that he remembered the exact table we sat at eighteen months ago when we indulged in a McD lunch. He sought it out and insisted that we eat there again this time. The boy has the memory of an elephant.

And how about that fun time on the airplane to Orlando. While excited to be traveling, Micah is not a fan of the friendly skies. The takeoff and landing are just a bit more than he likes to tolerate, but being the trooper that he is, he bears it as well as he can on the outside while completely losing his freak on the inside. Some of that freak leaked out into his diaper and I had the adventure of changing a 6 year old on the diaper deck that folds down over an airplane toilet. Just take a guess at how big that deck was, and how fun the whole job was to complete. The contortions we both had to maneuver into and out of would have baffled the mind of anyone not a parent in a desperate situation.

I'd love to always remember the Interactive Turtle Talk with Crush event. Micah saw the small kids sitting on the floor at the front of the room and immediately ditched us and joined them. He wouldn't let me sit with him because he is a big boy. There are times that I'm glad the boy is nonverbal though, because there is no way he could have been mistaken for the boy who yelled "dudes don't wear boobs!" Crush himself, on the screen in front of everyone, slapped his head and begged the audience to forget that that little speech ever happened. Heh. Too late!

And the fun, fun memory of telling Micah that we were flying home at the end of the trip. As we were headed to the airport, he got that little bit of freak out of his system and left a lasting imprint on the rental van when it leaked out the top, down the bottom and everywhere in between. Let the memory clearly state that we're extremely grateful this happened before we checked the luggage because every article of clothing that he was wearing needed changed.

I can't imagine that we'll ever forget that the bag that was delayed for a day somewhere in the air between Florida and Pennsylvania was not the one that contained the poo. It was, instead, the one that contained my camera with several hundred pictures on a memory card inside it. (My poor, poor fifth child. I should never have left you out of my sight. And I didn't really mean that I was unhappy with you when I contemplated making the airline replace you with a Nikon.) I managed to refrain from any overt display of emotion over that until the call came to say that the luggage was located. I may or may not always remember that I then cried like a baby.

Memory should now serve as a reminder that if I am stupid enough to check Big Important Things in luggage, then I will be blamed by the airline and held responsible for it going lost. Also, the van keys should never, ever be in checked luggage either. Especially if you live two hours from the airport. Oh, yes. We did. And again, it was our fault for trusting the airline to actually do it's job and deliver luggage to the desired destination. Silly us. I'm grateful for in-laws willing to drive keys to the airport to meet us so that our vacation could effectively come to an end.

And now, thanks to blogging, we will always remember that when parents are distracted by lost luggage and making arrangements to get home from the airport, Micah will climb onto the now-still luggage carousel and up the conveyor belt to investigate exactly where those suitcases come from. Curious minds just want to know.