Happy Birthday, Charlie . . .

28 years ago today, at 12:10 PM, my son, Charlie, was born. 

When he entered our world of three, his father, me and his sister, Tiffeni, he changed our lives. His sister was seventeen years old at the time and as she got older, it seemed unlikely that she would have a sibling. So you can imagine what a surprise it was when I found out I was pregnant. After an arduous birth and when he was placed in my arms, life was good and we began a new chapter in our lives that would, once again, bring back the magic of childhood.

Birthday parties, holidays and special occasions had new meaning and we all had a blast from the past. Beginning with the toys, we went from baby dolls to battleships. From tea sets to trains. Boy clothes were so darn cute, we wanted to dress him up all the time. And when it was time to go to school, all of us were so out of touch with what was going on in the world of education (Tiffeni was getting ready to go off to college) we didn’t know where to begin.

So what does Charlie’s birthday have to do with this blog’s platform? Everything!

As our children grew up, toys, clothes, books, etc., got tucked away in boxes, stored in attics and basements, regulated to a limbo that served no purpose. With every move, we needed to give away and dispose other things, each time a little bit of our family memories went too. But then, all was no longer lost because we created together our Family Museum, with Tif & Charlie having their own. And they are both grateful that their childhood keepsakes are being preserved and best of all, on display, to be seen and talked about, giving them much pleasure and pride.

So from Sesame Street, riding the rails with Thomas the Tank Engine, and saving Charlie’s baby clothes and toys for his future son, this is what having a family museum is all about. Keep the magic of your children’s childhood alive. It’s never too late to start.

"Preserve, Protect, Display. Create your Family Museum today!"   

   

Children's Museum Enterprise

As a child moves through the many stages of childhood to young adult, schools, careers, travels and relationships, they collect and save, stuffing their possessions in boxes that get shoved under their beds, piled in closets or along with yours, in the attic, basement or garage. Some of it may be thrown or given away, but then there are things that they just want to hang on to. Then one day they will ask you what should they do with all this stuff? How about suggesting they create their own personal museum.

Not only will their museum be a fantastic way to teach them to appreciate their things, it is a way to install pride and confidence in themselves. When they look, touch and show off their collections – favorite toys, trophies, drawings, mementos from an organization they belonged to, gifts they received, their old eyeglasses, even their baby teeth – all expound the stages of their lives, the subjects that interested them, and the accomplishments they made.

So when your kid(s) had a bad day – things didn’t go right at school, their best friends just let them down, their coach told them they weren’t good enough for the team – whatever tragedy besets them, as they run to their room for cover, they’ll pass by the family museum and pause a second to see that they did accomplish many endeavors and convey to them that they are an important member of the family, and that’s what really counts.

Pride – that sense of self-respect and personnel worth – gives your child a feeling of satisfaction derived from his or her achievements. And most importantly, preserving their memories of childhood and adolescence is a learning journey. That journey becomes their path to personal mastery of the many subjects that interested them. Their museum can contribute to the goal of building a future viable resume.

Our children (now adults) had fun while selecting their favorite things to put in their museum. The next posts will be about their collections.