Francis Ford Copolla never had to deal with this...

My mother and I cried today... but they weren't tears of pain or frustration. Rather, they were tears of laughter fueled by memories and really bad videography ala my father. It seemed appropriate that during my homecoming we might delve into such memories with the help of some old home movies, so sure enough after I mentioned it in passing yesterday my mother dutifully set up the camera and we sat down today for a serious flashback.

As a result I relived 1987, my first day of Kindergarten, and the day I learned to ride a bike. I also watched my 3-year old sister play tetherball with herself for a solid 15 minutes... clearly this is before my father learned that just because you CAN record moments for posterity, doesn't mean you necessarily SHOULD. It was very Napoleon Dynamite. Perhaps my favorite moment was my father interviewing me after my first day of school. I'm swaying back and forth in our backyard swing and about every 2 minutes my Dad tells me to stop and asks me if I'm trying to drive him crazy, eventually sighing, "Francis Ford Copolla never had to deal with this!" Ahh, childhood.

After the laughfest, my mother mentioned something interesting. She noted how interesting it was to see how enduring some of our personality characteristics were. And she was right, I noticed myself and Liz doing some of the same things as children that we do today. Gives some credence to the nature side of the nature vs. nurture debate. So it was on my mind again tonight as I played "Crazy Aunt Lora" to my best friend Travis and Nicole's daughter, Avery. She'll be two next month and she's developing at the speed of light. I couldn't help but wonder which qualities will endure in her, and how those qualities will present themselves in the person she will be as an adult. She is so much like her parents... like Travis she loves repetition, like Nicole she likes things to be organized and "just right." Having known Travis and Nicole since we ourselves were kids, it's funny to see how these qualities have been enduring in them since childhood too.

That's one of the things I appreciate most about maintaining relationships since childhood. I've blogged about this a lot, but it's truly a special experience to see the progression of people you love over time. It's hard to feel like I'm missing that progression as a result of moving, but that's an essential part of my progression. Avery's been talking about Crazy Aunt Lora for weeks, but the first time she saw me upon my return she started crying... she didn't recognize me, it had been 1/4 of her life since she'd seen me! Thankfully, I'm learning that 6 months of separation isn't that difficult to overcome and the love that characterizes such long-term relationships is its enduring quality.