It won’t be long until summer is here – after the very long winter of discontent for so many people. I have heard many people say how fast time flies, but that is probably because I usually talk to people my age – kinda old. I remember when I didn’t think my birthday or Christmas would ever come. When I was a kid. My friend, Julie, is coming down next week and she e-mailed that she is looking forward to her visit like a kid waiting for Christmas. I guess, under some circumstances, time can still pass slowly.
I remember when I couldn’t wait for summer, when the kids didn’t have to go to school and our schedule would be more relaxed. Then I couldn’t wait for school to start so we could get back into a schedule and I would have more solitude. Now my kids are middle-aged adults. J & I frequently ask each other when all that time passed us by.
Every once in a while I pull out the boxes of photos of the kids when they were young, when I was a young mother. I still have some memories of that time, but so many of my memories are those recorded in the photos. I think I remember the photos better than I remember the events. Does that matter; does it make a difference?
When I look at the photo at the beginning of this post, I smile and feel a warm glow deep within me. This sculpture triggers memories of when my children were young. I don’t remember any specifics as to when, or where, or who, but I’m so happy that I have a store of memories that can be sparked by a tot in a high chair in a restaurant eating Cheerios, or kids skipping stones on Lake Michigan.
This passage of time has been good to me. All of my experiences, all the ones that brought joy, sorrow, pain, laughter, tears, fear, and satisfaction, are what define my life. Sometimes life was difficult for me, sometimes I was difficult for those in my life. There are things that I feel bad about, wish I could do over. But that isn’t the way it works. I can’t take my current mind and put it in a time long past. As I look back, I believe I did the best I could with what I had at each stage of my life. It is my life and it has been good. I lived it with integrity.
A New Day: Living Life Almost Gracefully 
what a beautiful outlook – so nice. 🙂
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Thank you, y.
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Pat, I opened your post at just the right time. I’ve been doing some cleaning and came upon old photos. I had to stop everything and take some pictures with my iPhone of the photos and send to my kids. I got messages right back with their memories. For just a moment, I took them back to happy times when they didn’t have their adult responsiblilities. So thanks for your memories of memories!
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What a wonderful idea, Lois. Sometimes we pull out a box at family gatherings for our kids to laugh about and new members of the family to get to know us better. So happy you opened me up at this moment!
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Me too!
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I read an article, Gloria Steinem is turning 80, and celebrating with a trip to Africa. She says the fun is just beginning, but she has been saying that since she was 40.
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She is very right – the fun just begins at 40-something. Maybe I’ll book a trip to Africa now, in anticipation of my 80th.
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Life certainly is a journey and if I’m going to be as honest as you are, I do wish I could have a few do overs based upon the knowledge and experience I now have in my vintage years. But, we are a result of our journey and it is always better to look forward than backward. Love the sculpture. 🙂
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Yes, Judy, if only we had our wisdom and patience back then. But I have a hunch that I would repeat what I did if I was put back in the same situations with the same stress. I think we do our best. And forward we must go! Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
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I feel exactly as you described, Pat. I can’t take my mind and put it in a time past very well either. No matter, I remember the people and the joy even if I’ve forgotten the details. 🙂 Life has been good to me too. Lovely post, Pat.
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Thanks, George. It makes me feel so good to hear that others have the same experience with their memories. I am finding that my foggy memories are gaining a rosier cast as I am getting older – probably because I find it way too hard to remember the difficult. Hurrah for selective memory!
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oh gosh Pat, time flies, already we have grandchildren almost teens! you have a healthy attitude to life 🙂
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Thanks so much. I have two grandchildren in their 20’s and I’m not sure I’m ready for great-grandchildren – but getting closer to accepting the inevitable.
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I love how you share things about yourself & your thoughts & feelings behind them. I think it’s nice to have the happy feelings of memories – even if we don’t remember specifics – we always remember with who & the feelings.
{Hugs}
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Oh, what a good job of saying what I was struggling with, or confirming what I was hoping I was saying. I do remember with whom and the feeling if not specifics. Thanks, RoSy, for your gracious support.
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I am also loving this stage of my life. My husband and I have 1-2 years before we move into semi-retirement. I am looking forward to this next phase – but I wish in some ways time would slow down a bit. 🙂
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I understand, Nora. My husband spent several years in semi-retirement and it worked really well for him. I continued to work full time for most of those years. I find it so interesting how everyone works out their own unique patterns.
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