Memories that matter

Hubby got up, a little after I did, and said, "Good morning--although it's debatable whether it's a good morning."  A line I might have heard before, once or twice. He was dragging from a bad night where he didn't sleep much, and wasn't looking like he would be very lively very soon.

I was making my usual morning visit to Planet Kathy yesterday, about making memories--which is an idea we also promote and cherish--and one of the things she talked about was visiting World's Fairs in New York and Vancouver (where we had also been) among others. I was ready to chime in and wanted to be accurate in making a comment, so I asked my  bleary sweetheart if I remembered correctly that his trip to the New York World's Fair was part of his National Boy Scout Jamboree trip.  It was.

But he didn't stop there--he proceeded to launch into his whole New york itinerary with his brother, what parts were with their group, which were on their own with their leaders' permission because their father wanted them to see Wall Street, the stock exchange, and other notable places.  They went to the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Central Park.  It was quite an adventure for a group of boys from Utah, and even more so for the two of them to do some of it on their own in the big city when they came from a very small one.  I suppose that they wouldn't be allowed to set their own side trips today, but I don't know.

The point is, that he got wound up and talked about every sight they saw and every delight it had been, and revived right before my eyes.  In fact, I thought he was done and headed downstairs to get the laundry, and realized that he was not finished, he was still talking to me and I was going out of earshot.  He was smiling now, and ready to start the day.

This is why it matters more to have experiences than to have things.  They last so much longer.  We also said often that we were making memories for our kids, dragging them all over creation.  My family drove and camped all over the U.S. and a fair amount of Canada, and had lots of family we visited in lots of places. I'm sure that if Hubby got together with his next-younger brother they could spend hours reminding each other of all the events, sights, and people they encountered on that trip.  They have memories of experience that taught, stretched, expanded, reinforced, and entertained them.  That changed their perspective on the world.

There are many ways to forge essential connections, and share our lives.
      

          Snapshots

Words are like a snapshot

Of a family adventure:

It is not enough by itself

For someone who was never there

To see beyond that captured moment.

But for one who shares the memory

That flash of sight can open

Place, smells, laughter, sunshine, love,

And the experience of the whole,

Brought back in an instant

To smile through the day.

So it is with narrative

Of the heart's history

And spirit's experience;

To one who's been through like,

Words evoke recognition

And a remembrance

That goes beyond the page.

             (c) Marian J. Stoddard