Remembering Them as Children 
~ by James Banzer

   The memories of our own kids when they were children
can be a joy and comfort as aging starts to encroach
upon us. If we have taken the time to notice, we
recollect dozens of cute little stories about when
they were growing up. Some personal permanent memories
that are simply unforgettable come to mind.

   There is the incredible memory of my first daughter,
who somehow stumbled across a pair of handcuffs on the
street. They were not toy handcuffs, as I supposed
they were when she came into the bedroom, jumped on
the bed and said to put my wrists together. Before I
knew it, there was the click of the handcuffs, and I
was unable to remove them.

   Fortunately, I was dressed at the time. Something had
to be done quickly. There was a hurried trip to the
nearby police substation, where the two policemen said
they had nothing handy to solve the problem. They
suggested a trip to any fire station.

   The closest fire station was a volunteer department,
but no one was there. At the second fire station stop,
following a ring of the doorbell, the firefighters
came downstairs, having been awakened from a peaceful
late night slumber. They opened the big front door and
told me to come inside, where they used the Jaws of
Life to free my wrists. How those handcuffs wound up
on the street for a little girl to find and put on
daddy's wrists remains a mystery.

   With my second daughter, the most lasting memories are
of the silly little things she would say. On a family
trip out in the middle of nowhere, we became lost. We
were somewhere in Oklahoma, and on a small road in
which towns were far, far apart. While mom and dad
were discussing being lost, musing on the problem of
what to do, the silly little girl who was barely out
of diapers at the time happened to notice a big
McDonald's sign looming far in the distance over the
flat prairie. Out of the blue came the words. "We're
not lost, I see McDonald's."

   It was the same daughter who became seriously ill, and
was confined to bed when she was around eight years
old. While she was confined to bed, I told her that I
hated to see her sick. To her, the reply was most
logical. "Well then, don't look at me."

   When our third offspring was with his mom shopping at
the grocery, he did what most little boys would do
when passing the gumball machine. He admired it, and
wanted a piece of gum. Without saying anything, he
went a step further. He stuck his hand into the
opening where the gumballs are dispensed. He reached
up so far that he could not his hand out.

   He stood there crying. Store personnel came over, and
did their best to free him. It didn't work. The
previously mentioned neighborhood volunteer fire
station was across the street. Firefighters who manned
it during the day were summoned. They broke the
gumball machine, and managed to get the little guy
free.

   These stories are among the little crises of the life
of a parent. They're not big earthshattering stories,
but they are fun to remember.

   Millions of moms and dads don't have any fond memories
of when their kids were young. They view their
offspring as having been nothing less than a necessary
burden, oftentimes being simply an accidental result
of careless procreation, as little monsters that get
in the way.

   Good parenting is so much more than that. And, as the
kids progress toward adulthood, the memories grow into
the hundreds. Wouldn't it be great if all parents
could take a little more time to notice the delightful
little things their children do?

050104

James Banzer has enjoyed a long career in broadcast
news and is now writing on his observations about the
world around us. He is currently residing in
Louisville, Kentucky. You may send an e-mail to him at
jamesbanzer@yahoo.com  . 


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