It's day number 93 in the countdown to 2010 and the blog through the Bible.
I'm calling it Around the Bible in 365 days.

But today I was thinking a lot about my childhood. I lost both my mom and my dad within a 10 month period between March of 2006 and January of 2007.
I was in my dad's house today washing dishes in the same sink that I used to wash them in growing up.
As I was standing there my mind was flooded with memories.

I grew up with four brothers, and the only girl. So, as you can imagine, I was usually the one called on to help with the house work. My dad would ask me each evening after dinner to wash the dishes before doing homework or whatever else I had to do before going to bed. I really didn't mind doing dishes.
The problem was that every time I went to do them, I had to go to the bathroom. It seems that putting my hands in the hot water triggered a response from my bladder. For many years, in fact my entire teen years, it made my dad mad because he thought I was just using the bathroom as an excuse to put off the inevitable chore a little longer. It wasn't until many years after I left home that my dad came to me one day when I was visiting and said, "honey, I owe you an apology"
I said, "really, what for?" He said, "all those times that I thought you were lying about needing to go to the bathroom when it was time to do the dishes." I said, "well, what made you realize that I wasn't lying?" He said, "when your mom had her stroke and I had to start doing the dishes, it never failed, as soon as I put my hands in the hot water, I had to go!!" I just laughed and gave him a big hug...now the memory is a sweet one, I miss those hugs!!!

I also remember, going to the home of my aunt who lived a few houses from us and cleaning for her on Saturdays.
Then, the moment I got back home and my mom wanted me to clean a tub or something at our house, I would say that I was too tired. But, it really didn't matter, I had to do the chores anyway.
Now, I am the owner of a housecleaning business!!
I guess all that cleaning was actually useful for something besides making me resent my parents.
Isn't it great how the things we do as kids influence us throughout our lives?

Then, there were all the times when my mom would sit with me for hours and teach me to sew, cross stitch, or do some other type of craft activity. To this day, I still find those kinds of activities very relaxing and fun. And as a result of her efforts, I am now teaching my pastor's little girl to sew.

As a family, we were always learning a new game.
We played board games and card games together all the time.
This is another family tradition I have passed on to my children who now at the ages of 30, 27, and 26 are still game players.

What a wonderful thing childhood memories are. And to have the privilege of passing the fun down from generation to generation is awesome.

Don't take those wonderful days of growing up for granted.
Pass on the knowledge, fun and family traditions you learned during your childhood to those in this generation that you influence.
Don't take your parents for granted either, some day they will be gone and you may be standing in a home where memories were made and wishing things could be different. May God bless you all with wonderful family time filled with love, laughter and memories that last from generation to generation.

Psalm 37:4 Delight thy self also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. See You Tomorrow!!