September 26, 2001 - Wednesday
How long is a toddler's memory? I don't know, but it's at least seven weeks. Harry has already shown he remembers day to day. Now he's proven that he remembers much more.

Today, Harry openly reminisced about being at the beach and splashing in the waves. It was during breakfast this morning and I have no idea what triggered it, but all of a sudden Harry started talking about the ocean. When I first heard him say "ocean" I couldn't figure what it was. There was absolutely no context in our previous conversation to suggest the idea of the ocean. I suppose we did get a book from the library last week that included a picture of an ocean liner and a lighthouse, but we hadn't been reading that recently. It didn't matter, though, because after a moment Harry went on to say "ocean, wave, see it, wet, uh-oh, choking." I suppose on the surface that sounds rather dire, but it does describe the fun we had playing in the waves more than a month ago and that's how Harry was saying it: as a fun memory. Thankfully, the choking part was more of a warning than a reality, although there were plenty of times when Harry, being happily battered by the waves, fell toward the water and at least one or two occasions when he got a little water in his throat. But, someone was always there holding him up by the hands, at times to his chagrin.

Co-incidentally, at dinner Harry was also remembering meeting his great-grandfather on September 2. He's 96 and in a nursing home now, though still fairly sharp mentally and we stopped to see him for a few minutes that morning after breakfast. At the time, Harry seemed a little nervous, having not seen his great-grandfather in a while, and didn't want to give great-grandpa a requested Hi-5. But, today, he proved that the event left an impression. It wasn't profound, at least not by normal standards, but Harry said "grep-pippa," his best for great-grandpa, then a thoughtful "hi-5." You could just about see the wheels turning.


Comments, opinions?