Traci S. Sanders

My father always told me that the big things in life, like holidays, celebrations, and vacations, are wonderful and should be treasured – they are the bricks.

He also taught me that these moments are not the most important. The most important, he liked to remind me, are the small ones, daily life’s unsung heroes. These, he said, are the mortar – the mortar between the bricks. It is what holds it all together.

When he first told me this, I was in my 20s and found it interesting;

in my 30s, I found it helpful;

in my 40s, I found it wise.

And today, when I think about these words, I find them essential.

Milestones are like this – the bricks and the mortar. The firsts are always the bricks; yet, as these firsts become part of a child’s life, they become the routine, the everyday, the mortar: car rides to and from school, eating a meal together, walking the dog, setting the table…there may not be photos of these moments – they are, in essence, the in-between spaces in an album – but this is what lives are made of – the small moments that hold it all together.

Bricks and Mortar. These words have never left me.

Enjoy.

 

Traci S. Sanders

As a school librarian, I read The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo to my third grade class. They loved it.

Trying to find a book to read to them after we finished Despereaux was met with a lot of shaking heads – they simply couldn’t compete. One student summed it up best: “I miss Despereaux.”

”I miss him too,” I said.

”You know what? I was going to talk about something completely different during class, but I love what you just said, so let’s talk about that today.” This led to one of the best moments of my teaching career. And this is how it began:

“Think about this:

There are twenty-six letters in our alphabet that form words, to make sentences, that become paragraphs, to create a story.

And within this story lives a character, written in such a beautiful, compelling, thoughtful, and very real way, that we miss him when we finish the book.

That is the power of a great story. And that is the gift of a great writer.”

This is what we talked about for an hour of our day: All of our favorite characters that we missed when we finished the book.

So, when you’ve read the bedtime story hundreds of times it’s only because someone (or something) has captured your child’s heart and to say goodbye is simply too much. So instead, as the story ends, the characters tucked within the pages of the book, you hear your child whisper, “goodnight, see you tomorrow.”

And your heart soars.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Traci S. Sanders

Wherever you are, you’ll hear it – the generation gap.

Today, at a college football game, was the latest.

College-age son (heading to game that started an hour ago): “Mom, can you look on your phone to see the score?”

Mom: “Why don’t we just go in the stadium and be surprised?”

Son: “”Why, when you can just look on your phone?”

Ahhh, it happens to the best of us; the smartest of us; the wisest of us…Because, well, times change and things change.

But, you know what changes the least among us? Milestones: First Words, First Steps, Losing a Tooth, First Haircut. And the list goes on.

It is the moments we all have in common. Maybe they are shared in a different way – camera, video, on FaceTime, through Skype – but they are shared. And the feelings they engender are pretty similar – for children and their parents.

So, while we may find the generation gap becoming more common as our children get older, rest assured, when they get to be our age, and their children theirs, we will, again, share life’s most wonderful moments. It is that which binds us, no matter the year we were born.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Traci S. Sanders

There is always a first. There is always a favorite…

We capture them in photos; we treasure and protect them. They are our child’s past – an extension of who they are and, perhaps, a glimpse of who they will become.

I was thinking about this the other day, because I realized how little we often know about our own family members’ milestones – those we know and those we have never met. Maybe we took our first steps at the same age or shared a favorite book; loved the dentist or cried at the barber; struck out at bat or made the game-winning goal. Maybe we don’t even share the milestone, but the story is so good it deserves to be told.

In the wake of an upcoming family reunion, I thought how wonderful it would be if everyone shared their firsts and their favorites. And, if they didn’t know, perhaps there would be someone in the room, or someone to call, that would remember; a way to capture the past of all those present.

And so, whether written or recorded, catch these lifetimes of milestones, and all the memories that come with them, because you never know…who will discover, who will connect, who will inspire (and be inspired), who will laugh, who will cry, and who will say “…you know, you’re just like…”

Enjoy!

Traci S. Sanders

Looking at childhood photos with my children often results in two sounds: “Awww” for the cute ones and “Ahhh!” for the, let’s just say, awkward years. Case in point…my first haircut.

Right before my family moved, my mom decided that my sisters and I should get a Dorothy Hamill haircut. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t look nearly as cute in this haircut as Dorothy Hamill. As my long, thick, curly hair fell to the floor, it surprised me that the hair on my head looked different than the person it was named after. This should not have come as a shock, since straight and thin hair – like Dorothy’s – and curly, thick hair – like mine – didn’t even remotely resemble each other, even if it was the same style,

As I left the salon, I kept trying to make my hair lay flat on my head. Push – boing! Push – boing! “Why wasn’t this working?” I thought. My hair looked like someone had turned a bird’s nest upside down. Of course, my sisters agreed with me. Fortunately, for them, they had straight, thin hair, so at least people could see a Dorothy Hamill resemblance, while mine was apparently a roost.

And so, I entered a new school with a new haircut, and by the response, one that hadn’t been seen before.

I suppose what I learned from this debacle was: never get a haircut before school, especially a new school. Trim? Yes. Haircut? No.

Yet, as horrible as this seems (and it was), trust me – the pictures are floating around on Facebook – this story does have a happy ending, because…

I made a friend. Actually, I sort of resembled someone who became my friend. “Is that a Dorothy Hamill haircut?” she asked one day. I couldn’t believe it. Someone could tell. Then I turned around. “I got one too.” It was friends at first sight.

So, as you take photos of your child’s first haircut – and document the ones along the way – be ready for “Awww;” be ready for “Ahhh!” And be ready for lots and lots of stories. Haircuts have a way of bringing out the best.

Enjoy!