Memories

Remembrance. When we remember, we are saying that those who went before us mattered; that they are in our minds and hearts, and the past and the present are wound together in ways that are too difficult to articulate. Yesterday I went to my grandson’s Facebook page and looked at some of the pics he had collected. I took a second look, for there in a half-view of my grandson I saw my father. There was no mistaking that mouth and chin line. I guess my point is that we cannot ignore the past without limiting ourselves to only a half-picture of ourselves. Every moment of memory is an investment in a value that will enhance the future and help us know ourselves a little better, even if the memory is unpleasant.

Let’s not forget to remember family and acquaintances that may have gone too soon. I will never forget one 8th grader I had in class. J developed a serious disease in 8th grade and missed a good part of that year. The treatment they administered gave him a few more years, but in 12th grade, I saw him sitting in the hall on the floor. “J., are you OK,” I asked. “Yea, everything’s fine, Mz P,” he answered. But he was far from OK, and he soon left school never to return. After the funeral, we all had to pretend to return to normal, and normal for some of those Seniors was Economics class. We were involved in developing a product, selling it, and investing what money we made into something of value. As a group, the decision was made to make enough money to buy D’s tombstone. 

I contacted his parents who were OK with the idea, and the stone still stands to remind us of J. We remember him everytime we see it, and the kids in that class learned  how to invest in something of value--a treasured memory we take forward with us into our futures.