Wednesday 30 May 2007

Holidays - and children...

When our girls were very little, we would, like most families, try and go on holiday in the summer.

Once, we started the holiday a bit before the end of term (this is going back a bit, before education bureaucrats became the harbingers of authority, knowing what they ‘do’ – bugger me, they’re really clever these people aren’t they!), and we got away earlier with a letter to their Headmaster, saying the girls would record in a diary, all the days they had away from school, and draw pictures etc. He liked that, and so we wrote the ‘Holiday diary’, with grave importance. It was read out to the class when they got back.

We still have all these diaries; some are really battered and show stains ranging from egg and orange juice in the earlier ones, down (or up) to red wine, beer and Calvados, in the later years.

I love these precious books.

We always laughed, each year, when I bought a new notebook to write down all the things that would make me, and hopefully the others, happy, and bring something to enjoy when we were much older. I usually filled in the days, filling in the pages with gibberish and sometimes ‘pissed talk’, but there are also so many paragraphs and hand drawn pictures, written by our two girls, and Mrs S herself!

These records of all we did when we were younger, more carefree, more responsible, and easier to talk with, are still carefully stored – and often looked at when we can’t agree where we saw etc etc...

And they are treasures.

8 comments:

lilith said...

That is such a lovely thing to have!

Electro-Kevin said...

Diaries and photographs. Forget any other personal possessions when the house is on fire.

I've just lost my most precious photo album. I often take it out because it's so important to me, so that made it vulnerable to being lost.

Tuscan Tony said...

My UK busines partner, who although the same age as me has boys 12 years older than my gang, has repeatedly told me to enjoy the moments until age 11, when you lose them. Diaries and photos are precious things. Guard them with your life, stains 'n all.

Oliver Gosling said...

"My UK busines partner, who although the same age as me has boys 12 years older than my gang, has repeatedly told me to enjoy the moments until age 11, when you lose them. Diaries and photos are precious things. Guard them with your life, stains 'n all."

Yes for God's sake don't ever let the little bastards see your diaries!

Sen. C.R.O'Blene said...

Thanks Lilith - you're right!

EK, I'm seriously thinking of putting them all in a cyber file somewhere, but scanning everything would take about three years! Sorry yours have gone, they're useless to anyone else.

TT, Profound!

FB, I've just burnt all my old desk diaries. For years I kept them 'just in case', but realised that nearly everything was so old, I'd forgotten why the notes were there in the first place.

Liberated? - Ohhhh Yush!

savannah said...

it's funny what we save and the memories that never leave us...we divided all of the tons of pics among the children..they're copying, etc for each other...as i said to them..every one of those moments is alwyas with me..which is probably why i can never remember where i've left my keys...

Tuscan Tony said...

tsk tsk tsk Mr Blene, it's been over a week and nary a fresh post....!

Ms Smack said...

Gorgeous!