Flashing Palely in the Margins
What We Do In The Shadows
Now that I’m a parent, I’m acutely aware of all the sacrifices my parents had to make in order to help me grow into the person I am today.
Memories of childhood are often vague, punctuated by distinct events that stand out more than others. I can remember the time my dad drove us all to Niagara Falls, but don’t remember the hours my mom spent cleaning up after me or making me meals. The every day quotidian activities are often the least memorable, but they are formative and important.
I was began thinking about childhood memory while watching the final episode of this most recent of What We Do In The Shadows, when Laszlo asks a now-regrown Colin Robinson if he remembers the time he spent caring for him as a child—if he remembers Laszlo’s care and concern as he grew up from baby to full-grown man in a year. To this question, Colin Robinson shrugs his shoulders, with no recollection of the time at all.
What will my daughter remember from her childhood? Will she remember the nights spent rocking her when she couldn’t sleep? Will she remember the swimming classes and the dance classes and all the activities we took her to through the week? Will she remember the books we read and the walks we took?
What this season of What We Do In The Shadows reminds me is that most likely, she will not remember these things. She will, however, grow up to be a wonderful woman, and all that we have done for her will shape her into the woman she will become.