I’m sure I don’t remember what it was like
When I experienced my first firsts…
Day of Birth, Thanksgiving, Christmas,
or even New Year’s.
Since my birthday is the 13th, I looked.
It was a Thursday. Calendars never lie!
I’m sure I don’t remember my first birthday
Was it not a special day? Was there even cake?
My brother was born 36 days later,
After my first birthday that next calendar year.
I certainly don’t remember that.
And no, I don’t remember his firsts.
It seems I start remembering things,
Long after that first birthday had passed me by.
Maybe the second or even the third?
By then, my siblings were three.
Vague memories, even up to and including
That first day of school – Kindergarten.
We lived down the street, and soon after
We moved. New city. New School.
I remember very little. I don’t remember moving!
Here I am, on my 69th trip around the sun.
And this is my thought this early morning.
We’ve made such a fuss about our kids’ first
Perhaps it was not so much for them
And certainly more about us.
We want to give them more.
More than we remember having ourselves
We plan big surprises, and I’m sure
Their future memories will be a blur.
Today’s world is full of pictures
And if you do it right
You will be planting memories for the future
Someday, they will say, even after all you’ve done.
I don’t remember my first.