My Dad has located a journal my mother kept when I was a toddler just learning to speak. I am absolutely thrilled and so grateful that he found this, because I was semi-looking for it when I was visiting after my mother’s funeral in May. I sort of assumed I’d run into it while we were clearing out her clothing, and at the time I was too flattened to get it together and ask Dad if he’d seen it.
Well, without me asking, my Dad found it! He’s been sending me the scanned pages, a few each day, about the best email drip campaign I could have ever signed up for!
I thought I’d share this one, because it’s something that I actually remember happening. I used to go to my aunt & uncle’s apartment some days, and I spent a good amount of time with my uncle. When I got older, I used to go live at their house for a week or two in the summers. I have three strong memories of visiting their North Bay apartment:
1) going “fishing” with my uncle in a stream I later learned had no fish. I used a lure that looked just like a rubber frog. I really loved to go fishing with my uncle.
2) the hamster my aunt & uncle had as a pet. I loved that little creature, although I was too rough with him and he bit me once. As he should.
3) my lame excuse to try and trick my uncle into giving me canned peaches:
Second breakfast? I must have been a hobbit in a past life.
This time when I was learning to speak, my mom amused herself by teaching me complicated alternatives to simple words. Instead of teaching me “That’s hard to do,” she taught me “That’s difficult. That’s an arduous task.”
As you can see, I occasionally misused these bigger words, or got them mixed up with similar-sounding big words. Either way, my Mom got a kick out of hearing big words fall out of my little kid mouth. I remember a lot of what I said made her chuckle, and years later she first showed me this journal she kept of all the things I said that day that made her smile.
I’m really glad to have this now.
Kate Sitka 
When my daughter was about the same age, she used to call the zoo a “tiger store,” and a windmill was a “fan house.”
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that is too adorable!
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Aw, these are great! Probably better timing for you to get them now when things aren’t *quite* as raw, though I can imagine how much emotion comes up for you. Just to see a parents’ handwriting when they are out of this world physically is special. I like “I went extremely up.”
I used to babysit a lot when I was in high school. I had these two young kids on a porch style swing at a neighbor’s house but the back kept falling forward. Exasperated, Alex, who was maybe 5, stood up and said “They have very unstable chairs here.” He had used the word right and it totally caught me off guard! Cute. Thanks for sharing this.
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Yeah, I think the timing is right. I kept finding cards my mom sent to me and every time I saw her handwriting I’d lose it!
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I am keeping one of these for Evelyn and I figure even if she doesn’t want it when she’s older, I will love looking back and reading about the cute things she said and the mispronunciations.
Your mom very obviously loved you so much. This journal is such a gift.
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Thanks Lindsay ❤ Evie is lucky to have you for a mom
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Thank you for sharing this Kate. I’m so sorry for your loss and can only imagine what you’ve gone through. I’m glad that you have these keepsakes and memories of your mother. Peace, blessings, and love to you.
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I love this so much! I’ve tried to hang on to as many of the little notes and gifts, etc. my kids have made over the years as possible (at the risk of being declared a hoarder), but I wish I’d thought to write down all the funny little passing comments like your mom did…of course, my handwriting is nowhere near as lovely as hers, so it would a slightly less charming account, but still. I’m definitely going to try to remember do this with my little one when he starts talking. Sounds like you were a ridiculously adorable little kid, by the way!
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I have a facebook friend who updates his status with kid quotes quite often. The latest was their daughter correcting her Dad when he put a double bed in the bedroom of the doll house. She said “I don’t have a love partner like you, Daddy!!” So it had to be a single bed!
Love partner. Totally kills me!
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