Circle of Memories

by Mary Todd Gordon

One day, when I look back on my life and think about this pandemic, I believe I will smile as I think about the wonderful memories I made with my family. Before starting a family, I had no idea that some of my most favorite memories would be the simplest things. We live in a society where so much is shared on social media and moms tend to feel a lot of pressure to make sure they are providing (and posting) the most fun activities possible and taking trips every other weekend.

Well, time has seemed to stand still since the beginning of the second week of March. My husband and I were sent home to work for 3 months and our calendars were immediately cleared. There would be no trips or grand activities. While this came with quite a bit of anxiety, once we got in the groove of getting our work done from home with a toddler and a baby, we were able to make the absolute most of our time with them. What have we been doing? Well, we have played with dirt, worms, planted flowers, and watered those flowers together. We have made about 100,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We have eaten too many popsicles, rocked in our rocking chairs, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and taken at least one walk every day. Each evening we have had plenty of time to cook dinner. There has been no rush, which is such a breath of fresh air. We have watched our 2-year-old’s vocabulary grow like crazy. We’ve seen our daughter roll over and laugh for the first time. I hate that they won’t remember, but my goodness, these memories are etched in mine and Nick’s brains forever.

We’ve also spent a lot of time with fellow church members (Nick’s brother and sister-in-law) Wes and Meaghan Gordon. They have 4 kids of their own and our little ones love to play with their big cousins. Every time we go to their neighborhood I love to see all of the kids on their bikes, playing hopscotch, making chalk art, dyeing their hair (usually pink or teal!), playing ball; the list goes on. It is like stepping back in time. Everyone lives slower with no place to go. I wanted to ask Meaghan and her neighbor Kristy Camp to share some of their favorite family memories during this pandemic. I hope it makes you reflect back on these times for yourself. If you are older and don’t have little ones running around, I hope it makes you reflect back on your sweetest childhood memories when times were simpler.

Meaghan Gordon: My husband Wes and I have 4 children ages 6, 8, 10, and 12. One of the most fun things for our family is “Cul de sac Crossfit,” led by Christopher Whatley several times a week. From doing lunges to burpees to relay races with sandbags, the kids were getting fit and (mostly!) having a fun time doing it. When school was canceled for the remainder of the year, the workouts served as our neighborhood PE class, giving the kids and their moms a great way to spend time outside, burn energy, and get stronger as we took part in Christopher’s special daily workouts.

And we needed those workouts because we were also doing a lot of cooking! Having all these meals at home means we get to try lots of new recipes, we’ve discovered we could bake bread and cakes from scratch and we’ve even put our new outdoor griddle to good use with everything from pancakes to hibachi. My family is a bunch of foodies, so it was fun to get creative with our menus and attempt new things in the kitchen with the kids.  

The time at home without so many obligations and to-do lists also allowed us to focus on making memories with our children, despite the events they missed. While we mourned the cancelation of the middle school musical, kindergarten graduation, summer camp, and so much more, I hope when they look back at 2020, our kids will remember the good things more than the disappointments. Things like Mamie catching her first fish, fort building, tie-dying, riding a thousand miles on their bikes, celebrating drive through birthday parties, creating sidewalk chalk art, catching lightning bugs, and playing outside every day with their siblings and neighbors. This crazy year has taken away a lot but enjoying slower days with our families is one of the unexpected gifts.

Kristy Camp: My husband Jason and I have two children, a 6-year-old and a 4-month-old. Little did we know in when we moved into this little neighborhood full of kids back in January how much of a blessing it would be. Certainly, no one expected a pandemic, but as a family, we’ve tried to remain positive, given the circumstances. We are so grateful for our neighbors. As a family, we’ve gotten to spend some great quality time together. Our daughter, Molly, has discovered some new hobbies and she’s developed some precious friendships along the way. One day we struck out as a family for the woods behind our house and took our fishing pole just for fun. Unexpectedly, Molly caught two tiny fish! Her “fish story” grows bigger each time she shares; just ask her. Molly thought we were just fishing, but those are memories Jason and I will cherish forever.

We have relived our childhood through exploring the wood with Molly and building forts. Each day we go outside, Molly is playing with neighborhood friends, and there’s a new fort being built somewhere around our house. It’s fun watching her imagination run wild as if we were the Swiss Family Robinsons. If we would have logged the miles ridden on our bikes, we could have been across the country by now. We’ve had home spa days, painted a stained glass window, tried baking new recipes like macarons, and even set up a campsite in our house. Not seeing family and friends has been the hardest part, but we have regular video calls to stay in touch. There are plenty of negatives we could focus on from the past several months, but our silver lining has been slowing down to a simpler life and using our imagination to enjoy time with our family of four.

Mary Todd Gordon: I pray that although my family has gone back to somewhat of a normal routine with two working parents, we would not stop enjoying the slowness and simplicity in life because God is found in these slow and simple places. He is found in nature, slow dinners, watching your children learn and love life. In all of it, He’s there.

One of my favorite prayers in the Bible is from Paul’s writings in Ephesians 3:14-19. “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in Heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Church, I am continuing to pray for you all during this difficult time. Don’t forget to stop, breathe, and take in the Lord’s goodness – it might just be through dirt and worms.