Today the first day of potty training boot camp.
A camper.
Tried on the big girl potty once per hour.
Successful twice. Stars from the teacher.
Tomorrow we move to panties and extra outfits…including more shoes!
Downtown with mommy. All part of the experience.
Yes, I remember when you had to turn on the tv by walking up to it.
I remember the Polaroid instant camera (and at this point I can say 35mm film!)
I remember when my first computer experience meant feeding punch cards into a machine.
I remember…
the first personal computer (and when the Apple 2+ was really cool!), the first “Mac” (we were very surprised on Christmas morning one year when one showed up as our family gift…set-up with love in a small closet), when “Windows” were just a concept (we programmed our own graphics in green screens…certainly no mouse), Pong, Atari, the first time a connection was made on our computer via the phone line (yes, a land line)…it certainly wasn’t the internet as we know it today. Dot matrix printers, floppy disks. Video arcades and the introduction of Pac-Man.
Yes, I remember…
Working to master Rubik’s Cube, getting a Cabbage Patch Kid at the height of the Cabbage Patch Kid craze, not having voicemail, finally getting an answering machine (first cassette tape then digital), the introduction of caller ID.
I brought a Word Processor to college. I learned about search engines when I started work at Target; internet, what’s that? I got my first cell phone (the size of 3 decks of cards, only for emergencies, no text option) after collage…I was an early adopter. My first TV was a 13″ Black and White tube set. I learned to navigate the world using a map.
Cell phone companies had coverage in very limited areas, very specific to them. Roaming charges applied. Minutes were very expensive.
I remember…
The Club and the ThighMaster. Beanie Babies and when cans had “ALUMINUM” printed on them once they made that conversion (now the beginning of recycling).
The introduction of the Microwave and VCR to the mainstream. I’ve had vinyl albums, cassette tapes, CDs, and MP3s. I’ve had VHF movies, DVDs, Blu-Ray and digital. Certainly no DVR.
The Sony Walkman first made the media portable and personal; the boom box made it portable and loud.
The beginning and the end of the Space Shuttle program.
The introduction of “Cash Cards” and ATMs.
I remember…life before Starbucks, social networking like Facebook and Twitter, eBay and email. No cable TV.
The concept of innovation over my lifetime thus far seems impossible. What was new is now second nature.
Yes, I remember it all. What will Abby remember?
To miss sharing a glance of life now saddens me.
To write is a privilege.
To write is a priority.
Having gapped even a couple of days in the documentation of life, I now offer the update.
Like a mushroom springing up overnight, you blink your eyes and it has blossomed.
As I sit here tonight eating this fabulous mushroom risotto, I ponder the speed in which Abby is growing.
She is nearly end to end on the changing table. She can reach up and pull doorknobs. She can easily check the seat of her highchair from the ground to make sure that no significant crumbs were left behind. She can climb up on the couch.
This is that magical time that the infant matures to become the toddler. I look at Abby each day and see her “little girl” face more and more; her baby face is fading.
So tonight it’s all about mushrooms. The one that I am eating (oops, I guess it’s gone now), and the one that is blossoming into a little girl overnight.
julieabbymac 