On your first ever day of school . . .
Did you spring out of bed?
Or did your mom rouse you gently?
How did you feel as you got ready?
Were you nervous?
What did your very first backpack look like?
Who made you breakfast?
What did you eat?
Was it your very favorite?
Who brought you to school?
Did you walk? Drive?
And after school . . .
Who did you run to, and hug first?
What stories were you bursting to tell?
Was there a special spot you went to celebrate?
Who did you bring along?
Do the details really matter?
On the one hand, no. They don't.
It matters not at all what color t-shirt you wore, whether it rained on an otherwise sunny day, or how much spilled down your arm as you sucked down your ice cream cone with heroic speed and valor.
But on the other hand, yes. They do.
In thirty years when this little girl has a new kindergartener of her own, which of these details will hold the key to a whole vault of memories that she'll be thankful to pass along?
And although the details themselves don't matter too much, they connect the dots in a way that tells a much broader story. One about how life is lived in this house. The togetherness and teamwork that these two mamas model for their three little girls. The tenderness and care with which they raise their babies. About this little girl's first deep friendship -- one so close that of course they'd celebrate the first day of school together. About the spunk and joy of it all.
Are those all just details? Are they worth preserving? It's hard to say. You be the judge.
