Remember...

Remember…I would rock you in my arms every night as a baby and when you were sick as a small child, I would sing Round and Round a song by Perry Como. You knew the words by heart when you were older.

Remember…going swimming together you would hold me so tight and wrap your little arms around my neck and say, “now duck down mommy”.

Remember…taking turns drawing pictures on each other’s back and we would have to guess what the other was drawing. But we were only allowed three guesses and it was the others turn.

Remember…playing snakes & ladders, monopoly, trouble and so many more. This was especially fun playing when the lights were out and we played by flashlight.

Remember…playing hide and seek - we would always hide together but when we heard daddy coming you would always say, “we’re in here daddy”.

Remember…reading bedtime stories every night. We would lie on your bed and read so many books. You loved to listen to stories. Your favourites were Mortimer by Robert Munsch and Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gillman. Sometimes we would have to read these two or three times a night. As you got a little older, the novel Santa Paws to the Rescue by Nicholas Edwards was your favourite you would read a chapter and then I would read a chapter. The book that you were reading up until March 28 still sits on your night table, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.

Remember…our made up stories, you would say a sentence and then I would say a sentence until we came up with a really funny story. We would laugh so hard.

Remember…coloring together in your coloring books. I’m sure you couldn’t see the fridge door sometimes because all your collection of art was displayed there.

Remember…going to the museum every year even though we had seen it all before.

Remember…walking in the park to play on the swings and go down the slide with a reply, “just one more time”.

Remember…playing our made up game - sea catcher- we would pretend the floor was the ocean and the coffee table was our boat. If we fall off the coffee table, we’d have to help each other up before the sea creatures got us. Laughing so hard made it harder getting back onto our boat.

Remember…taking the cushions off the sofa. You would have one cushion and I would have another. We would place them on the floor next to each other and this was our pretend car. We’d travel many miles looking at the cows, horses, goats, and pigs, but when we saw these animals, we would have to make the same sound as them. And those bumps in the road were the best.

Remember…saving your recyclables money to buy gifts for the happy tree every year. When you were smaller you would even wrap your own toys to give away.

Remember…one day you and your cousins Adrianna and Devan had a toy sale and when you went to a neighbour’s house they offered you the money for the item but when you gave them the item you also gave the money you had collected. Every time your cousins Adam and Jake came over you would always make sure they left our house with a little something – one of your collectable cars or a pokemon card.

Remember…going sliding in the winter at Great Nanny Churchill’s - that was so fun, but going back up the hill always took the longest.

Remember…putting up the Christmas tree and decorating our house in November – we were so excited. You would say “Mom can you feel the butterflies flying around in your belly”?

Remember…going fishing and dad usually having to untangle us after we would get our lines tingled.

Remember...mom got her boot stuck in the bog and when she took her foot out, her boot was still in the bog and then she fall backwards. You were trying to help me but couldn’t because you were laughing so much.

Remember…last year we were both running to see who could get to the recliner chair first, but we both got to it the same time and flipped the chair over on top of us. We laughed so hard that dad had to rescue us.

Remember…you tried for years to sleep over to a friend’s house for a night but couldn’t - there was always a call home in the middle of the night, – can you come get me. The smile that was on your face when you saw us pulling up in the driveway to get you would melt me.

Remember…picking out our new kitten from the SPCA so many years ago. When a little kitten came over by your feet, you picked her up and said, “this one mom and dad, because she really likes me”. You named her Scooter because she moved so fast.

Remember…running after Harley when he was a puppy in our backyard and Harley would hold onto the back of your pants as you ran.

Remember…counting down the seconds during New Year’s. When you were small you would ask why I cried when I heard Auld Ang Sine. I would tell you because I was so happy for a new year and thankful for our old year. I think as you got older you understood.

Remember…sitting on the floors with all your dinkies, making roads and making trucks sounds.

Remember…the time the three of us got on the tilt-a-whirl ride at the circus and when we got off you and dad were sick. I’m sure you guys were green.

Remember…riding your new bike for the first time without training wheels. You were so proud you had to call everyone to tell them your exciting news.

Remember…during the winter months checking the weather conditions for the next day on the internet. When a lot of snow was predicted, we would be so excited and hoping for a snow day so that we could stay in our pj’s all day.

Remember…every Saturday night in the winter was Hockey Night in Canada Night with homemade pizza.

Remember…studying for tests and exams we would make up sayings to help you remember the material you needed to know.

Remember…baking cookies and cakes. We loved to bake when you were small. You would stir and when you got older you did it all - I just sat and watched.

Remember…our trip to Sandy Cove when you and Dad went kayaking and dad kept flipping his kayak over. You then fell off because you were laughing so hard at dad.

Remember…going out Halloween night. You were never to keen on going door to door. You would rather stay home and give out the treats.

Remember…before you left for your hockey games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. You would have your request in for what you would like for supper when you got home. It was always ready when you arrived home - you were so hungry after hockey.

Remember…when I used to go watch you play hockey. You and all your friends would laugh at me because every time you came close to the puck I would have to close my eyes or turn my head. I use to tell you to stay away from the puck I didn’t want to see you get hurt.

Remember…when you scored your first goal and your Dad who was also your coach was so proud and excited that he was embarrassing you.

Remember…the Boogers hockey team when you were the second highest assists leader.

Remember…your first year playing hockey and we won the gold medal. You and Dad were so proud.

Remember…watching the CNN news after 9/11. You couldn’t understand why people would want to harm others.

Remember…you and Dad would turn the music on blast when Mom got out of the car, because Mom hated loud music (especially Metallica).

Remember…watching about the tsunami in Southeast Asia after Christmas. You were hurt that people were helpless and homeless and wanted to know where the children were going who had lost their parents.

Remember…visits to the MUN Botanical Gardens. We would walk through and were amazed that the sunflowers were so much taller than us.

Remember…when you were small and after watching something sad. You would say “I feel sad in my throat” referring to the lump in your throat.

Remember…going to movies - especially our movie night on Christmas Eve. This was one of our family traditions.

Remember…going to the fireworks every July 1st. We’d have our pj’s on and park the car by the Confederation Building to watch.

Remember… our many visits to the GeoCenter. This was interesting as it was all about dad’s work – geology.

Remember…our late night summer drives to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream.

Remember…our walks on the beach in Middle Cove and Outer Cove when you were younger. Your pockets were always weighed down with different shaped rocks from the beach.

Remember…our bedtime chats, your nightly foot massages, playing checkers or crazy 8’s and watching TV shows together. This was something we did every night until March 28.

Remember…getting mad at your Dad when you were four when he said the word kidney. You would be embarrassed because you thought kidney was the name of a more private body part.

Remember…going out for lunch or supper. You would always want to try something different, it didn’t matter what it was.

Remember…many times we’d give you more than enough money to go to movies with friends. When you’d come home, you never had any money left because there was a friend that you had paid for since they didn’t have enough money. We heard so many stories like this the last four months. It was something to you that wasn’t a big deal - you were just helping a friend.

Remember…attending opening night at Mile One and going to numerous productions at the Arts and Culture Center.

Remember…our family vacations to Sandy Cove, Bonavista, Florida, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Terra Nova, Trinity Loop, Halifax and so many more places.

Remember…many nights spent at the old stadium and then Mile One to see the St. John’s Maple Leafs hockey games. It never really mattered who won or lost!!

Remember…driving you to and from your friends’ houses and chatting along the way.

Remember…you always had a nice complement to offer. If we made something that was not very good, you’d say “that was good”.

Remember…telling your cousins Adam and Jake as they played hockey – great shot and wow you guys are really great, telling dad he was the best hockey coach at the rink, telling friends that they were awesome at doing a trick on their snowboards or playing hockey and so many more. Your personality was so positive, gentle and kind.