So I Won't Forget...June 2024
3 things I want to remember from the past month
The photos on my phone tell a story.
You might be old enough to remember what it was like to have a limited amount of photos you could take in any given setting. The film only allowed for so many. The disposable camera that you packed for a week at camp only took 22 pictures so you had better use them wisely. If the flash button wasn’t flipped up, forget it. It wasn’t that many years ago when I had limited space on my phone for photos. Some evenings I would sit on my couch with the TV playing in the background while I sifted through what I didn’t need to make space for more. Not so anymore. I just checked and there are currently 17,895 photos on my camera roll.1
As I sat down to prepare this essay I discovered that I haven’t taken good inventory this month. There is no note on my phone where I’ve jotted down the things that caught my attention and honestly I let my own remembering practice slip as I’ve nestled nicely into the rhythm of slow summer mornings and long sweaty afternoons. I share this only to say that this time technology had my back by way of my camera roll. And in tapping into this helpful resource, I had a BBNO2 moment:
Taking pictures is remembering.
Of course it is. We’ve all likely participated in family portraits, senior portraits, pictures on the beach in coordinating outfits and it’s obvious that in those moments we’re capturing a memory. But do we consider that same thing when we snap quick pics with our phones? Maybe sometimes. All I’m saying is that the thing we take with us everywhere, the thing practically glued to our hands, is a mechanism for remembering. If you’re interested in building a rhythm of remembering into your life, then use the tool already at your disposal, the one that is likely in your hand as you read these words. What have you taken a photo of recently? No doom-scrolling, this is remember-scrolling. So in no particular order I present to you this month’s So I Won’t Forget courtesy of my camera roll.
So I Won’t Forget #1…My daughter is growing.
Twice yesterday I coached our almost 10 year old through some emotions that can only be described as big. Over duplos.3 And frankly this has become somewhat of a normal rhythm in our house not because we have a problem, but because she is doing the quintessential thing that all little girls do at her age—she’s growing. Lest you think I seem super regulated about doing this big feelings dance a couple of times a day, I’ll add that I’m always simultaneously coaching myself on the inside. This is not about logic, Emily. You did this too, Emily. This is important to her right now. Don’t tell her this is silly (even though it is). As she laid her crying face in my lap yesterday over the injustice of the duplo distribution, by God’s grace, I had the presence of mind to stroke her hair and wipe her tears rather than tell her to get over it.
We went to the lake this week and she carried her new Stanley water bottle and sauntered down the dock like she just got her driver’s license. Then she kayaked on her own out on the lake and drank a sparkling water while chatting with her grandmother. Later that day she cried over having to run an errand. See what I mean?We’ve got a foot on both sides of the line dividing little girl and big girl. The photos of her this month are a mix of confidence, beauty, humor, and awkwardness—all the essential elements of growing. Remembering that helps me stay grounded when logic flies out the window. It reminds me of the good work God has done in me, a former 10 year old girl, who also needed time and grace to mature. As I type this I wonder what the day will hold and I’m whispering this breath prayer before she wakes: God, help me to remember she is growing. Give me the patience and wisdom to love her today with loads of grace.
So I Won’t Forget #2…The magic of early mornings.
I love mornings and I cannot lie.
Someone out there is reading this and groaning because aren’t morning people so annoying? I’m sorry on behalf of all of us. It’s not so much that I wake up ready to take on the day, but more that I relish the quiet aloneness of the mornings enough to slink out of bed when its still dark, brew my coffee, and hide in my office.
Summer mornings in my little office have become precious to me and that’s what I’m remembering this month. For any new moms reading this, I’ll add that they’ve also been hard won. Our kids sleep in later than they ever have, not wildly late, but past 7AM which at one point in our oldest’s life would have felt like 11AM. Since moving back into our home, my husband encouraged me to claim the office as mine. (He’s the best.) And this suggestion unlocked a subtle shift in me—this is my morning space. It took me five minutes to buy a cute chair and added some framed art.
While we moved around for most of the last year, I thought and spoke a lot about place. I even did a series called The Spaces We Occupy exploring the ways God uses our physical context to teach us. I was attempting to answer questions burning in my heart while longing to be in our home. Something about the office being mine has been the cherry on top of the loveliness of moving back home. This space matters to me. I’ve been drinking coffee in the dark and reading through the Sermon on the Mount, typing and working on We Have This Hope, and listening to my dog snore next to me. I suppose I’m documenting here just to mark the season—or so I won’t forget, ha—and to encourage someone to make a morning space. It’s been sacred to me and I’m praying it bears fruit.
So I Won’t Forget #3…a few honorable mentions this month.
In case you missed it, last week we celebrated “tree-iversary” at our house. I won’t belabor the story any more than I already have. I’ll just link it here. It was big for us. The tree and the year. The end.
Once upon a time we were all learning to spell phonetically and that time is now for our son. For Father’s Day he made Dustin a “Lego Certificate” which he spelled on his own. I cannot type out what it actually said, but I can encourage you to go back to your phonetic-spelling-era and say the word “certificate” slowly a few times. Did you get it? I have’t laughed that hard in a while. You’re welcome.
We threw together a yard sale with some neighbors and it was the most fun I’ve ever had hosting a yard sale. I’ve never equated a yard sale with fun of really any kind so imagine my delight when it turned into a community building moment for our little corner of the neighborhood. Kids ran wild. Friends lingered to chat. We off-loaded some stuff, made some quick cash, and ended the day swimming with our neighbors. A simple and good day.
Friends, thanks for joining me and my camera roll for this month’s So I Won’t Forget. These essays have continued to delight me and they’ve also been a source of great feedback from readers. I think they resonate with folks. If that’s you, would you share about We Have This Hope with a friend, pass along this essay, or simply comment below on what you’re remembering this month?
So very grateful for you,
Emily
To be fair, this # does include several runs of selfies courtesy of my children swiping my phone and making a run for it.
Stands for Basic But Not Obvious - courtesy of my dear friend Adam who coined the phrase & now I’ve commandeered it.
The toddler-version of legos that are too big for swallowing. AKA baby toys.