Memories are a funny thing. The faintest scent, an old song, or even a hamburger can take you right back to a certain place and time. This comes to mind because they just opened a Culver’s in our neighborhood down here in Florida. Of course I had to get my first Florida butter burger almost immediately.

As I sat there in the familiar blue dining room, I couldn’t help but be transported back. I can’t tell you how many times we went to a Milwaukee-area Culver’s while our kids were growing up. There were the frequent times we went after Little League baseball games. We went after dance recitals. I can even remember being there with our kids and their high school friends a time or two.

Funny how a simple little fast food place can bring families together and create memories. The taste of that burger reminds me of little Benjamin, our son, covered in dirt from playing catcher. There he sits around a table with his baseball buddies. They’re cramming down burgers and fries, then coming over to ask for their ice cream. In the mean time the parents are at another table discussing the finer points of Little League baseball.

Those were formative times. Our kids learned a great deal about life playing baseball. And they learned plenty about good families and family life when they hung around fellow players and their moms and dads after games.

That hamburger reminded me how much I love being a dad. Times change. The kids are grown. I don’t know if we’ll ever all sit around a table in a blue Culver’s dining room. But I’ll never forget the days we did, and the memories they created.

All because of a Culver’s hamburger.

What are the things that jog your memory?