Why Some Memories Should Just Remain Memories
You know how they say that you should never meet your heroes because chances are, you’ll just be disappointed? I’m starting to think that’s true for memories too.
Think about the incredibly fun things you did as a kid. Chances are, those are some of your best memories. They’re the things that you can’t buy for your children, but you hope to give to them.
But what happens when you try to recreate those memories or experiences for your kids and they just aren’t as great as you remember them?
Now, before I go too far, I want to make sure that I’m clear that any time spent with my family just enjoying each other’s company has really become my favorite thing to do. We had a good time together. But it was one of those moments that I remember being better when I was a kid.
We went to an amusement park in Canada that we used to go to a lot when I was young. I remembered it being incredible. The rides were amazing, the food was delicious, and I just have great memories of it. But when we left, I felt disappointed. It’s kind of the same feeling you get when someone uses the phrase “you can’t go back home.” It didn’t have the “holy cow, I can’t wait to go back!” feeling that I was used to.
Unfortunately, the lines were long, the food was not good (and super expensive), and while the memories will still be good, it was just not what I remembered.
Maybe it’s because back in the day, my parents were paying for everything. Maybe I was just happy to be at an amusement park as a kid. Maybe my kids will still have great memories of the place that I loved just like I did.
Then again, maybe it’s just time to make our own memories and stop trying to recreate ones from the past. Maybe growing up just sucks.
Have you ever had an experience like this?