Raising young kids means witnessing a comical level of short-term amnesia. “Have we said the blessing?” our six-year-old will interrupt dinner to ask, less than one minute after we’ve prayed. A toddler’s bedtime examen will yield “I can’t think of a ‘sorry!’” even when he’s still drying tears from a transgression and a talking-to moments earlier. But other times, their memories amaze us. Unprompted, they’ll vividly recount something from months or years prior—often experiences that seemed forgettable to us adults.
The forgetfulness can be frustrating. “We’ve asked you five times to get your socks!” But as I reflect on my failings, I give thanks for it. When I misplay a stressful situation and make things worse, when I flub a conversation with uncareful words, my boys are quick to forgive, forget, and find a way back to happiness. It’s like our relationships have an endless supply of fresh starts—a tangible microcosm of what our Lord offers in the confessional.
The other feature of their memories offers a different lesson. I truly cannot predict which events or conversations will lodge deep in my sons’ minds and make a lasting impression. Every time my wife or I speak or act in our kids’ presence, the stakes are potentially very high. This resurfaces the even more bracing truth that we’re always in God’s presence and the stakes are always, in fact, eternal. As Saint Josemaría Escrivá reminds us, “There is no action—however small—that does not carry a moral weight.”
(Andrew Quinn lives with his wife and sons outside Washington, DC, where he works as a political consultant and writer.
