Memory

Hunter often shocks me with the things he remembers. At such a young age it seems like he doesn't have a very good memory and is incapable of recalling things that happened days or weeks before.

But today I observed Hunter playing with a chess game, saying "Go Matthew! Go Matthew!" as he had put one of the little pawns on top of a small piece of plumbers line and was lining the rest of the chess pieces up to watch.

This particular scenario came from our visit with the Jackson's, nearly three weeks ago, as Matthew, the sixteen-year-old, had climbed up to the top of a rather high stand-alone telephone poll and most of the family came out to cheer him on and, for some of us, take pictures.

Other scenarios such as these have left me amazed at how much he really pays attention, and how functional his memory really is. Some of the more recent cases have been his memory of several months when he surprised me with a comment, "We buy a present for Gracie" last December as we passed the Dollar General store on Lincoln Way. We had bought a gift for Grace's birthday last September, and in December Hunter remembered the store and what we did there, even though we hadn't been there or talked about it since.

The other thing that shocked me was how well Hunter remembered the Jackson's. We only spent about a day and a half visiting them last October, but when we returned in January he felt straight at home, remembering where all the toys were and being best buddies with Rachel and Caleb again.

I am learning more and more to respect little children for their capacity to learn, for they understand far more than we tend to give them credit for.

"That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God."

Numbers 15:40

Hunter is 2 years, 10 months old