Today Creates Tomorrow’s Memories

I think sometimes we forget the power of today. In the overall picture, circumstances will fade away, leaving us with the highlights of our lives to remember. We dream and scheme over our tomorrows more than we often focus on our today. During writing class, I was visited by a picture in my head. Though it was simple enough, the unspoken words stirred many emotions. I began to recognize all of the beautiful wonderful pieces of my life that I sometimes forget to be thankful for. And because of the importance of those many small things, I want to share the story with you. 

Reflections

She sat at a table all alone slowly sipping her coffee while gazing out the picture window. The waitress carrying the coffee carafe hesitated to bother the lady when she saw the dreamy expression on the elderly woman’s face. Clearly, she was in another place. 

The lady dressed in her daytime best was lost to memories of her past. In a thankful state of retrospect, she realized the value of her experience. It looked repeatedly as though she had loved and lost. Had she known life would safely deposit her out on top, she may have done a few things different. 

While it may not have resembled the perfect performance, it most definitely did not constitute the worst.  She’d been married previously, but went on to find out what true love was. She had put her life on hold and sacrificed for her children, to have them scatter across the states. Fifty-five years ago, she chose to try again and laid her heart completely in the hands of a man that now lay in the ground. 

Perhaps she would have shown more patience. Maybe she wouldn’t have chosen that fight. Maybe she would have shown her love through the little things that she never made time for. Yes, she had been a good wife and mother. However, if she were to go back and do it again, this time she would have focused on being more extravagant with her love instead of fixed on showing it through her tasks. 

Regardless, as her grown offspring produced children of their own, they recognized the amount of effort she had put forth. They began to thank her for all of the things they took for granted. She now remembers dearly how her late husband had told her everyday how much he loved and appreciated her. The little things that used to irritate her are long forgotten. Memories highlight all of the precious things he did to remind her of how special their love was. 

And though she sits contemplatively alone in the end, she takes great joy in the fact that she still has these memories to carry her on through the rest of her days.