AuburnChick's Adventures

Last night we had a fancy dinner…chicken fingers and French fries.

Chicky got to eat her gourmet dinner on a very special plate…

This, my friends, is the Red Plate.

The Mr.’s aunt gave us this plate early in our marriage…perhaps the first Christmas after Chicky was born.

It came in a pretty box with a permanent marker.

The intent was that we save it for special occasions, serve the honoree’s meal on it, and write the date and specifics on the back.

A few days ago, I saw the plate’s box on the top shelf of one of my cabinets.  The image must have gotten stuck in my brain.

I remember briefly thinking that I had not used it in a very long time.  Chicky’s first day of her Senior year of high school certainly was worthy of climbing on the counter to retrieve it.

As I pulled it out, she chuckled (fancy dinner to be eating on it…NOT), and started reading through the events I had noted on the back.

Ahhh…the memories…

Please allow me to share them:

• 11/13/95:  Chicky did not wet her bed all night & did not wear a pull-up!
• 5/11/96:  Chicky learned to swim.  No more swimmies!
• 1/6/97:  Chicky doesn’t sleep with a night light anymore!
• 1/?/97:  Chicky had 1st dental appt yesterday!
• 3/31/97:  Rooster threw away his pacifier!
• ?/11/97:  Chicky learned to ride a bike w/o training wheels
• 9/11/98:  Rooster wrote his name for the first time.
• 10/21/98:  Rooster used the potty @ school.
• 11/2/98:  Rooster learned to ride his bike without training wheels!
• ?/28/99:  Chicky lost 1st tooth!
• 2/5/99:  Rooster learned to tie his shoes!
• 3/26/00:  Rooster’s first baseball game.
• ?/?/00:  Chicky’s first basketball game.  2 baskets made!
• 1/17/01:  Rooster mastered a very difficult speech whistle.
• 1/20/01:  Rooster scored first soccer goal!
• 6/13/01:  Rooster lost 1st tooth!
• 10/30/01:  Rooster is dismissed from speech!!
• 8/24/09:  Chick’s first day of 12th grade.

Although the dates of some of the events have worn off (I will shellac the back of the plate when Rooster leaves home), what can’t be erased are the memories.  These are small snapshots of my children’s childhood…each moment special and celebrated by the four of us.

Every time I have placed the plate in front of one of the kids, their faces have lit up.

I could tell that Chicky enjoyed the extra bit of attention.

Rather than putting the plate back in the cabinet, I am going to set it on the counter on a plate holder.  This way we’ll always have it at the ready.  I suspect that this will be a big year for extra special meals…even if we only eat chicken fingers.

Filed under: children | Tagged: children, teenagers, the red plate | 5 Comments »