Remembering 21 Years of Birthdays (And Why I'm Not Leaving It to Memory)
Recently I sat down to fill in my two and a half year old's Little Me Toddler Milestone Book.
I say recently. It had been sitting on the shelf for at least twelve months with nothing written in it. Second born life is real, and if you are in the same boat, no judgement here whatsoever.
The thing is, when I finally did sit down with it, I realised just how much I had already forgotten.
Her first birthday. Her second. I could look back at the Facebook event for the date and double check the theme, but who was there? What gifts did she get? What was she obsessed with that week? Gone. Completely gone.
That mamā guilt hit hard.
The Details Fade Faster Than We Expect
I always assumed I would remember. That the big moments would stay vivid and the details would come back when I needed them.
They don't.
And it is not just birthdays. It is the funny things they said. The foods they refused to eat. The songs they asked for on repeat. The way they said certain words before they learned to say them properly.
These are the things that make up a childhood, and they slip away quietly while we are busy living it.
Why I Am Starting a 21 Years Book Right Now
I am setting a reminder on my phone the moment I finish writing this.
Because the answer to forgetting is not trying harder to remember. It is writing it down.
Our 21 Years Keepsake Book is designed for exactly this. One letter a year, written to your child on their birthday. It takes twenty minutes. It asks simple questions to prompt you. And over time it builds into something completely irreplaceable.
A record of who they were at two, at seven, at fourteen. In your words, from your perspective, at that exact moment in time.
By the time they turn 21 you will have created one of the most meaningful gifts you will ever give them.
It Is Never Too Late to Start
If your child is already a few years old and you have not started yet, that is okay. Start now. Write what you remember. Fill in the gaps as best you can. The pages you write today are more valuable than the ones you wished you had written yesterday.
And if you are expecting, or your little one has just arrived, start immediately. Future you will be so grateful.
Because one day your child will sit down with that book and read about who they were before they could remember being anyone at all. And that is a gift that no amount of Facebook memories can replicate.
Shop the 21 Years Keepsake Books here and the Little Me Toddler Milestone Books here.