New Memories

We were on a drive a couple weekends ago when I saw Mt. Sugarloaf rising above us. I knew our day was about to get a little more fun.

Once a summer, my family would get take out from our favorite hot dog stand- Tom's- and bring it to the top of Mt. Sugarloaf for a picnic lunch. Once I met Steve, we started doing the same every summer, but when we had kids it went to the wayside.

On this day, there was no reason why we couldn't re-start the tradition and have a picnic lunch on the mountain. So we did just that.

We got hot dogs, fries and a milkshake and sat on our blanket in the shade with a light breeze cooling us off. It was a quintessential summer day, and the kids actually stayed on the blanket and ate lunch, much to our surprise and delight.

Steve mentioned to Rosie that we would be going up onto the lookout tower, the tower where all the princesses live. Neither he or I thought too much about his passing comment, but someone did.

We started up the spiral staircase to the second level of the lookout. Rosie did a quick scan of the layout, and announced "I need my princess dress!" Because of Steve's offhand remark,  she was convinced that for the first time in her almost 3 year old life, she was in a castle, a Princess Castle, and obviously she needed her Princess items. We laughed and told her, sorry, we didn't have it with us, but she could dress up when we got home.

I took her hand and brought her up to the third and final level of the lookout. I was lifting her up so she could see the view when she announced: "Put me down. Princesses don't carry me" which is Rosie language for "Put me down. Princesses aren't carried!" I laughed and I laughed and I laughed.

Who would have thought, 15 years ago, when I stood on this lookout, as an angsty teenager who didn't want to be with her parents, that I would be standing here when I was 30, with my 3 year old daughter making Princess demands. I never would have predicted it!

One of my favorite things about being a parent is bringing my kids to the places I have fond memories of from when I was a kid. I get to relive my childhood a little, and the new memories we're making just make these places even more special. I don't think I'll ever go to Mt. Sugarloaf again without remembering that the lookout tower is a Princess Tower, and probably in 12 years, 15 year old Rosie will roll her eyes when I tell her the story.