If Stephanie Forgot

Over the years, several of my friends have recommended Liane Moriarty's novel, "What Alice Forgot"...and I finally took the time to enjoy it recently.  It was a light, upbeat read about a wife and mother of three who bangs her head at an exercise class and suddenly forgets everything from the last ten years of her life.  The book has its funny moments--she still thinks Brad Pitt is dating Gwyneth Paltrow and can't believe that she's fit and organized in her late 30's, but it's serious at times, too...I mean, she doesn't recall giving birth to her children much less their names!

While you're reading the book, it's almost impossible not to put yourself in Alice's shoes and wonder, "What if I woke up today and could not remember the last ten years of my life?  What if my reality was December 11, 2006?"

If that were the case for me, I would be surprised not to wake up on a futon on the floor...in my Japanese apartment! It would be hard to believe that I hadn't climbed Mt. Fuji with Tony and two of our best friends just a few months back.

 Or hosted my friend Malia (the geisha below) and her mother for a tour of Japan last month!

Or been saying our good-byes to the neighbors...

and friends who treated us like family...since we would be moving back to America shortly!!

And I'd still expect to see THIS view when I looked outside my guestroom window!

Instead, I would wake up in Montgomery, Ohio, and be shocked to discover that I couldn't recall thousands of life events from the last decade. Here's a taste of some of the things I would have missed...

Moving back to the States in late December 2006 to live in Durham, NC...and adopting our sweet dog Jack!

Followed by the countless lovable and hilarious things he used to do when he thought no one was watching...

The following year, I became pregnant with Baby D...and both my family and Tony's threw me beautiful baby showers.

I also wouldn't remember my delivery of Samuel Nicholas (who we thought was going to be a girl!) that rivaled a Cirque du Soleil act in Vegas. He was worth every chin-up and acrobatic maneuver.

One year later, this was the picture on our holiday card.

I would have missed that it took us a long time to conceive Sammy, but no time at all for Gabriella Eve...who arrived 19 months and 1 day after her big brother. My labor with Brie was 3 1/2 hours TOTAL. We had a hunch that she was a girl, but the surprise was still tons of fun.

Then we enjoyed a few years of our two sweet little ones...in both Durham...

and Cincinnati. I wouldn't remember that both kids sucked their left thumbs, adored sushi and were great sleepers. Or that Sammy was a super easy baby and toddler, but has been a bit headstrong and moody ever since. And that Brie was a temperamental and shy little one, but at age three evolved into an easy-going, outgoing, forever optimist.

 

They made a great duo...

But Tony and I agreed that we had more love to give...

 

So in June 2014...Sebastian James arrived! He was chunky and scrumptious!

Our two left-thumbsuckers welcomed him with open (right) arms and gave him lots and lots of attention.

Brie would walk by Sebastian just so she could smell him...

 And Sam would ask to hold him just to get an extra snuggle in.

Samuel and Gabriella were family names, but we picked Sebastian's name simply because we liked it...and it really suited him. He turned out to be a really sweet baby and toddler... 

who also loves sushi!!

 And is up for anything...

 

And, oh yeah, sucks his left thumb...shocker!!

And the three of them became instant buddies!!

The kids squabble (and share sparingly) like most siblings, but for the most part, life is more fun with your two sibs there!

 

 

How insane and unbelievable it would be to suddenly discover that this is our family! We have three kids?! And they ALL have brown eyes? And play soccer and gymnastics and, of late, piano? And love school and preschool?

I wouldn't even remember all of the kids's school work (which, by the way, when Alice wakes up in 2008, is being completed by the parents!), art projects, and sweet notes. Here's Brie's adorable Thanksgiving work from last month:

And Sam's "Thankful Plate" with all that he's grateful for. (:

I'd be delighted to learn what strong relationships our kids have with their grandparents.

And with their cousins and friends, too!

And intrigued by the friendships that Tony and I have watched blossom (especially our fabulous Cincy neighbors!!), the ones that have gotten stronger...and, of course, the few that have petered out. I think I would be fascinated to hear which of our friends and family have started families...and devastated to hear about the loved ones we've lost over the years.

I imagine it would be very hard to digest and accept so many changes at once. No wonder Alice was overwhelmed! Luckily, I've got our blog, in case I do lose my memory...though it only goes back eight years! Let's just hope that I don't suffer any head injuries anytime soon; I like my memories just the way they are!!

P.S. And what about the jobs I've had (and still have--8 years in college admissions?!) since 2006! The homes we've lived in--who'd have guessed that Tony and I are really into real estate and interior design these days? The car I drive--NOT a minivan! The awesome slow-cooker pulled pork recipe that I've got down pat--yum! I could go on and on...