Memories with meaning…

Last week, I posted a story about an actual camping trip our family took. I submitted the story in August 2022. The story was published in Funny Times in October 2022. While preparing this post in November 2022, I found a forgotten letter from my daughter. The letter was a school project when she was thirteen years old. I found the letter when I cleaned out a file cabinet. My daughter’s letter follows.

Dear Mom and Dad,

            I want to share with you a special memory of mine.

            I think we have so many memories, but one of my favorites is the camping trip that went all wrong.

            It rained all weekend, our campsite flooded, our tent leaked, and the air mattresses had a hole. With all the chaos though, we found a way to fix the problems. We moved the table and tent. Then we went to Walmart and got stuff to fix the tent, and pool floaties to sleep on. When we got back, we read stories and played games. Even though Mom’s mattress had a hole, it was a peaceful night. I was so sad to leave. I’ll always remember that trip. It was one of the funniest camping trips ever.

Love, Sam

            There was a discrepancy in the time line. My daughter mentioned a weekend camping trip. In the story, I quoted a week. The kid’s right. She has a better memory than I do. With the rain, it probably felt like a week. And though the story was written with a grumpy point of view, we had a freakin’ blast on that trip. Conditions didn’t matter. We shared the greatest gift of all: time together.

            My daughter is now thirty-one years old and married. We still have family adventures.

            Go outside. Make memories. You might never know how much those memories mean until you find a letter from your kid.