Dear ECS: Melding Memories

Dear E.C.S,

Well honey, it has been a bit longer than I had wanted between this letter and the last one.  Sorry!  The Korol family has been pretty busy over the intervening weeks, so my apologies.

This busy month or so has been incredibly fun, especially as you get ever more active and vocal and playful.  One aspect of the our last couple weeks that has been very enjoyable has been getting to share some activities and locations from my own childhood that are seared very positively in my memory .  First, I got to take you 50 or so miles north of DC up to Baltimore, particularly to the national aquarium (https://aqua.org/).  Balto has been an enormous part of my own life, your Baba (your grandmother) grew up in the city.   Your Baba’s mom (Nana) lived there for my entire life.  We took visited Nana at least 2x a year throughout my childhood and I would return regularly to see her as I grew older.

Throughout those trips as a kid, we would invariability visit the National Aquarium that sits majestically on the inner harbor.  Even thirty years ago, this was a special place with so much cool sealife and exhibits. The rainforest exhibit on the top of the aquarium evokes a sensory memory of that air density that is so endemic to the tropics. So up the road we went for a daddy/daughter date to the aquarium.  This day trip exceeded my high expectations and you were an absolute joy.  I loved seeing you patiently waiting to touch the rays and the jelly fish, earnestly watching the sharks and turtles circle the massive main tank, persistently insisting we stay in that very same rainforest 30 years hence and watch a tortoise walk very, very slowly.  Afterwards, all topped off by a nice meal and some fresh Italian cookies.  You came home so happy, a happiness matched by your dad.

The second venerated Korol family location that we ventured to last month was colonial Williamsburg.  I went there years ago for a Thanksgiving, probably when I was about 10 or 11.  The trip remains locked into my memories, including the enchantment of the colonial past, some humorous family moments (most at my expense) and excellent food.   We took the train down to Williamsburg for my birthday, and for my birthday dinner we went to a restaurant (http://www.thetrellis.com/) that is much loved in the collective Korol memories.  It was sublime, but even better than the food was the continuation of a family history, of transmitting even at your tender age some little part of what I think of when I think about family.

You won’t remember these trips – but I will.  And so will your mom.  And we will tell you about them when we talk about your grandmother and your great grandmother.  You don’t have to remember them to have the events internalized into who and what you are, after all.  We are the sum of our collective experiences, including the ones we don’t remember happened. 

These two highlights of the last month are experiences that I hope have shown you a slice of your family.  You were fantastic and joyful and delightful, per usual.  I know you had a great time absent this familial context but having it makes the experiences all the better for you, and for me.

Love,

w