Perfect Picture

Do you ever wish you could take a picture in your mind? Or a video to record exactly what you see at the moment you see it, like a memory that you could replay with exactly clarity? I could start carrying around a video camera with me wherever I go, but it won’t remember the exact feeling of that moment. It won’t remember the warm humid air, the sun sparkling on the world, the emotion that makes the memory significant…

For example, the other day I took the girls out to run a few errands and we met up with Steve at a park for lunch. First of all, the fact that we have the kind of life where this is possible, where I have a day to spend with my girls and Steve has the job flexibility to just meet up with us for lunch, is perfect in my world. And not something that a video camera would remember.

We ate our lunch and then the girls ran to play on the playground, everyone is happy. In a world full of crazy unperfected moments, this is what I would classify as a perfect mealtime.

The playground had a fairly big slide, as in high and fast with a significant drop at the bottom. Tryn, being such a big girl like she is, took off down the slide and stuck the landing like an Olympic gymnast: both feet planted, a little bent at the waist to catch her balance, and then straightened in triumph.

Just as Tryn landed Berlin got up to the top of the slide. This is when I wished I had a video camera. She sat down and prepared herself. Tryn, realizing that Berlin was nervous, stood at the bottom of the slide. She stretched her arms open as wide as she could, reaching up toward Berlin, straining until she was on her tiptoes she yelled, “It’s okay Berli! I will catch you! You can do it sweetie! Come on, I will catch you! It’s okay honey.”

Perfect.

The funny thing was that if Berlin had actually gone down the slide in hopes that Tryn would catch her, Berlin would have knocked Tryn flat on her back. Steve and I found this quite humorous and were glad when Berlin decided to forgo the slide.

Even if I had a video camera I was actually too far away to get a good picture of what was going on, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to hear Tryn’s little voice on the tape.

So I have my memory, which will fade overtime, until I might not even remember.