Stanko's Stance

This is just a question I came up with the other day. I think it’s a good question so I am going to put it out into the universe.

But first, a little bit of context.

Everyone has core memories. Everyone can look back to certain moments in their life and appreciate specific experiences as ones that shaped their life, or perception of it. These memories could happen at any age and can be remembered in a positive or negative light depending on the age one is currently.

The concept of core memories creeped into my psyche because I am having multiple friends excitingly move into a new phase of their lives. The era of parenthood is beginning! 

It goes without saying that events with children are hallmarks for core memories. The birth of a child has to be near A1 in terms of influential and memorable life moments. That is for the parents, but the kids don’t remember that.

So what do the kids remember?

My question to you, random reader of this random blog, is the following:

How Many Core Memories Are Shared Between Parents And Kids? 

What percentage of immovable nostalgia for parents is mirrored in their child’s mind? It is safe to say that a parent has more memories of their child than their child has with them, but at what point in life does it flip, or become equal? Is that even possible?

Having friends who are going to be entering their parents era, which lasts forever, I found myself wondering if parents know they are having a breakthrough moment with their kids, or if it’s something you hope sticks but can’t know until later in life. The process of teaching younglings to be themselves and part of society is unpredictable in itself, but among the haze of an outside the classroom education, are there pegs you know that you can hang your hat on?

For me, I had a moment in December that I know is going to be a part of my life going forward. Emma’s nine year old brother stayed over one night, and the following morning I put on The Thing (1982) while he was playing video games. The little man quit whatever game he was playing and came over to the living room and watched about 15 minutes of The Thing at full attention. He was asking me questions about what this alien thing is and why the dogs were acting crazy.

I know that I am going to remember when this little man watched one of my favorite movies with me. I am going to remember him asking questions and sitting on the far-too-big couch with the cushions swallowing him. It will be a core memory for me, but for the little guy, it probably won’t register as an important event at all.

Weird how it all works.