Cameron at 3: An Interview

Sometimes things happen in our lives and we feel as though we will remember them forever. I am like this with my kids. We go through each milestone and it moves my life so much that I know I will always be able to remember every detail.

Unfortunately, like most things in this life, I don’t. These memories drift away or melt into other ones. They become something different or something not at all. And then, I am asked about when Cameron started crawling or what he loved to eat as a baby and I simply can’t remember.

I know that we need to forget. We need to forget to move on and not hold onto the past. We forget to protect and we forget to make room for new memories.

But I don’t want to forget these years. I don’t want to forget the way my boys play together or the way they can’t get to sleep at night because they are laughing at each other too hard or the way that Cameron wants to be in my arms too whenever Gavin is there. I don’t want to forget the squished snuggles on the recliner when it feels like my arms are holding my entire world in the body of two little children. I don’t want to forget the funny phrases or the new accomplishments or the way Gavin calls me “Mim” and gets excited when Daddy comes home from work.

But in a year, or two, or five, I might read these words and think “Oh Right! That happened. I had completely forgotten.”

I fight the forgetting. I fight it with words and images. I fight it the best way I know how.

And I fight it by talking to my kids.

On Cameron’s birthday, I interviewed him. Here, for the record, is a snapshot of my boy on his third birthday. And I hope, when reading this in the future, I will remember how much he loved race cars. And how he surprised me by answering a food question with a fruit answer. And how he ran back and forth from my lap to the living room and back while answering my questions. No wonder my brain can’t retain all the memories. They are simply too numerous and too wonderful.

My favourite food is: Strawberries

My favorite sport is: Soccer and Football and Hockey and Racecars

My favorite show to watch on TV is: Racecars

The thing I do best is: Racing cars

If I could change my name, I would change it to: Cameron

My favourite colour is: Blue and Orange

My favourite toy is: Race cars (two of them specifically, though he didn’t specify which two).

When I grow up I want to be: Just Cameron

My favourite snack is: Racecar treats (Cars gummies)

Food I don’t like: (He didn’t answer this one, though he did wander through the kitchen trying to pick out all the food he could see that he didn’t like. Nothing was really visible, but the reality is, his answer would probably be ‘all the foods, except the ones I like’.)

My best friend is: Kianna

If you could have any wish in the world, it would be: Mommy

My best memory is: Watching race cars and playing with numbered race cars (He is referring to watching Nascar on TV and racing similar cars on the floor in front of him).

Interview inspired by this post at Meet the Dubiens. I hope to make this a yearly tradition, adding questions as he gets older. Having kids who talk and interact with you is so much fun!