Starting a Motor

by K_REY_C | More from this Blogger

24 Sep 2009 05:37 PM

I don't really remember when I was really young. My parents often ask me about this or that family vacation and I truly have a hard time remembering. Sometimes they show me pictures which help my memory a little bit but I am largely unable to mentally recall much of my time when I was young.

Part of my problem is reflection. I don't really take the time to remember my past because my present is so busy. It is hard to commit time to remembering games in the backyard with my brothers when I'm concentrating on managing a 400+ student course while also keeping track of my responsibilities as a student, father, and husband.

It is a miraculous moment, then, when a past memory comes flooding back into my mind. One of the more recent examples was when my wife changed the sheets on our bed about a year ago (she changes them much more frequently than once a year). My brother-in-law had handcrafted a beautiful cedar chest for us as a wedding gift. That night I placed my nose into the sheets, inhaled, and remembered being at my grandmother's house as a child. It took my back immediately and filled me with pleasant memories.

A similar thing happened to me this week when I was bouncing my son on my knee. This activity was prompted mostly to keep him from crying out to his tired mother for more milk. She needed to eat something herself to continue producing milk. At any rate, bouncing my son on my knee reminded me of a game my grandfather used to play with me.

My grandfather would "start his engine." He would bounce me on his knee and make the funny noises of a car starting up. I would laugh. He would continue by honking his nose and revving up his ears. All of this was combined with a set of ridiculous faces and sounds. Behind the mask of wackiness, however, was a great and palpable love.

And so, I found myself remembering my own childhood and sharing the fond memory of my grandfather with my son. I started making car noises and telling him about his great-grandfather and his funny car-starting-game. My son is much too young, however, to remember the game we played this week. The game will be entered into my repertoire for entertaining my son and sharing a laugh and some love.

So my son has renewed my childhood. How and when do you remember your childhood most vividly?

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Kyle is a husband, father, graduate student, playwright, dramaturg, actor, graphic designer, instructor, technology enthusiast, excel master, and friend.

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