A VALUABLE LESSON

 

It’s ironic, when I think about it…as the years pass…

the more and more I grow

the more and more I come to realize…

all the things I do not know.

My parents and my teachers helped me learn…

They helped my mind to grow…

but even after all their teachings…

there was so much I did not know.

As a parent, raising children…

watching their minds and bodies grow…

every day was a constant reminder…

of all the things I did not know.

As a teacher for 39 years

trying to help my students grow…

each day in the classroom I came face to face

with all the things I did not know.

And now that I am older…

thinking back on all the years I’ve seen accrue…

I’m starting to forget some of the things

I know that I once knew!

Which makes me wonder if my life isn’t a balancing act…

a kind of ebb and flow…

between all the things I’ve learned

and all the things I do not know.

Perhaps the best that I can hope for

before my life on Earth adjourns…

is to use what I do know wisely…

while retaining a willingness to learn…

Which brings me back to irony…

as the older and older I grow…

It’s ironic the most important lesson I’ve ever learned in life…

Is that there’s so much…I do not know.

TRUTHS

 

When we're young, if we were lucky, we learn truths that, in life, will help to see us through…through the good times…through the bad times…because we know these truths…are true.

Truth about how to treat another person…any person…always with kindness…never condescend…truth about how to love ourself…and others…and what it means to be a friend.

Truth about how our planet is important…from her sky…to her trees…to her tides…not only for our survival…but for the beauty she provides.

Many of these truths we learn early…soon after showing up…we’re taught them by our parents…it’s all a part of growing up.

Sometimes, however, as we grow older if we’re not careful our intentions and our actions become misconstrued and misbegotten…when those truths we learned when we were children…are buried or forgotten.

My hope is if that happens…if we ever lose our way…

we find the path back to those old lessons…those old truths of yesterday

For I can think of nothing sadder…once our youth has finally sprung…

than to grow old chasing truths…we once learned when we were young.

A FATHER TRULY BLESSED

 

“Pop, hold on to me.” The son said with a smile as he opened the passenger side door…and I was instantly transported to a time 24 years before.

Our son, Bryan, was getting his drivers license and in front of us as we stood in line abreast…stood an older man with his father…who was taking the vision test.

The old man put his head in the machine…but something went awry…when asked to read the top line…”I can’t!” was his reply

“Let me try again.” The old man insisted. “Which line did you say?”

The screener answered, “the top line” then the old man stepped away

He looked at his son next to him…then angrily back at the screen…

“I’m not sure,” he said to his son, “but I think there’s something wrong with this machine.”

“Miss,” he asked the lady who had let out a cynical yawn, “this machine you’re using for my test…are you sure the darn things on?”

“I’m sure.” The lady replied…her voice was low and grating…

“Read the top line please.” She repeated, “there are many people waiting.”

In a voice that seemed so unkind…as if she was provoked…

She said, “If you cannot read the first line, sir, your license is revoked.”

The old man pushed his head back in to the machine then cried out, “This can’t be!” as he unsuccessfully tried to read a line he could not see.

Next he took a step back…he looked old and frail and weak…but he stood up tall, straightened his clothes and brushed a tear from off his cheek.

“Don’t worry, Pop.” His son said. “This is nothing we can’t survive…after all the years you drove me around…think of this as my turn to drive.”

“Pop, hold on to me.” He said as they slowly waked out the door. “I’ll drive you home the same way you drove me home before.”

The memory of that day will always be special to me…not just because Bryan passed his test…but it was also the day I saw in a son’s love…a father truly blessed.

MY FAVORITE TIME OF DAY

 

There is a moment, however fleeting, when the shadows of the night share their place among the heavens with the dawning of the light.

That moment when the sounds of evening…begin to fade away

begin to cede their voices to the the music of the day.

That moment when the darkness lifts…and you find yourself entranced…

as the clouds…the birds…the trees…the flowers…begin to sing and dance.

As I stand in awe and marvel at nature’s ethereal ballet…

is it any wonder that this moment…is my favorite time of day.

DID I FORGET?

 

We don’t know when we’re visiting with a family member or a friend…

if today will be the last day…the day a life will end.

We don’t know if it is the last time we’ll find comfort in their eyes…

the last moment we will see them smile…

our last chance to say goodbye.

As for me…I don’t want my life to end in sorrow…

with sadness and regret…

I don’t want my last thoughts in life to be…Did I forget?

Did I forget to smile at the other person standing over there?

Did I forget to tell them thank you…or show how much I care?

Did I forget to say I’m sorry if I brought tears to another person’s eyes…

if I hurt another person…did I forget to apologize?

Did I forget to enjoy the beauty around me…everything I hear and see…

Did I forget to tell the ones I love…I love them…and how much they mean to me?

Wait! It occurs to me as I’m writing this…I am still alive! 

At least for another moment…

another day…

I have survived!

Which means I still have time left to live with no regrets…

time to ensure my final thought in life…

will not be…

Did I forget.

AT A CHILD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

 I love attending a child’s birthday party…watching the chaos, the gifts...the surprise

It’s a time when we get to view the world…for a moment…through a child’s eyes.

We see excitement…we see wonder…we see hugs and loving pats…

We see a lot of people singing at the top of their lungs to one child wearing a silly hat.

A child’s birthday party has many things our normal routine lacks…

It has music, laughter, ice cream…cake…it has gifts and songs and snacks.

At a child’s birthday party we realize…this is how life ought to be

as we’re transported back to at time when the world was more innocent…and free.

We see a unique and wonderful blend of people…a family of friends  

who sit around and linger…hoping the party never ends.

Perhaps that’s why we try to capture the innocence of that moment…before that moment slips into the past…hoping long after the party’s over…that innocence will last.

We attended a child’s birthday party yesterday…and, once again, what a wonderful surprise…watching this child at her party…viewing the world through her innocent eyes…

Watching her throughout her party…we couldn’t help but be entranced…

as she blew out her candles with her hand..as she laughed and sang and danced…

Through her eyes we saw pure happiness…it was like she was living in a dream…

as we watched her eat her birthday cake…with two flavors of ice cream…

We watched her enjoying every moment…every breath…every wonderful embrace…

and not once the entire evening…did a smile leave her face

What made this party truly special…however…

was not only watching the festivities unfold…

but the child at the center of this birthday…

just turned 70 years old.

WITNESS TO A MIRACLE

 

The other day on our morning walk we witnessed a miracle that involved a baby duck…a kind young man…a box…and the kind man’s pick-up truck.

We happened upon Jason…who had within his hands

a baby duck he found at the marina…wandering in the sand.

He didn’t see her at first…only heard her little sound…

and he quickly noticed he baby’s mother was no where to be found.

So he gently set her in a box on the passenger seat of his truck

and drove around with the hope of reuniting…momma and baby duck. 

We wished him good luck in his attempt to locate the baby duckling’s mother…as he drove off in one direction…and we walked in the other.

The next day we saw Jason again…in the distance standing by his truck…

We waved and asked him how yesterday went…his adventure with the duck.

He waved back and in a voice loud, and proud, high-pitched…and excited

told us, with a smile on his face…how mom and baby were reunited.

He said he drove around until he spotted the mother…it took a little while..

and though he can’t be sure when mom reclaimed her baby…he thought he saw her smile.

I view this as a miracle…how a caring man with a box and an old pick-up truck…saved a baby duckling by reuniting baby with Momma duck.

Over the years I’ve come to realize it was never God’s intent

that all her miracles in life should be heaven sent…

No, thankfully, in my life I have come to understand…

all it takes to perform a miracle…is one kind and loving hand.

OLD MAN CAUGHT IN THE RAIN

 

In the middle of my walk this morning…as my health I try to maintain…I was greeted from the heavens…with an unexpected rain.

It’s funny how it works…as the first raindrops and you collide…you immediately look around…for a safe, dry place to hide.

But I walk through old neighborhoods…and I didn’t think it bright…to hide on a strangers porch…while still blanketed by the night.

Which left me only one option…given the circumstances my reasoning was sane…if I didn’t want to get arrested…I’d have to give in to the rain.

And so I did and as I watched the raindrops upon my body find their way…all my apprehension about getting wet…miraculously faded away.

There was a rhythm to the rain…I could hear it…I could feel it in my feet…and before I knew it…there I was…dancing in the street.

I imagine if anyone was awake and watching…they would think I was insane…and wonder what this old man was doing…dancing in the rain.

But I take my walk quite early…it’s a routine for years I have been keeping…which means in most of the houses that I pass…the people are still sleeping.

What a shame…I thought to myself…for if this morning they happened to look out their windowpanes…

they would have seen an old man feeling like a young boy

encouraging them to join him…

outside…

dancing in the rain.

MY CHOICE

 

I imagine when we look into our hearts…when we probe the corners of our soul…we’ll find moment in our life…over which we have no control.

Moments that help shape the person we daily come to be…moments left entirely in the hands of destiny.

For all those skeptics out there who totally disagree….remember…we didn’t choose to be born…we didn’t choose our family.

Although we are, in part, influenced by our fate…our destiny…we also get to make choices as to the kind of person we want to be.

If we’re free to make these kind of choices…these choices I’m thinking of…then I hope it is my destiny that I shall always be choosing love.

Yes, if I’m free to choose the kind of person who I want to be…then I choose love and kindness…love and compassion…love and generosity.

I choose love and happiness…love and acceptance…love for all the beauty surrounding me…I choose love fore every creature on Earth…love for our one big family.

I may not control ever aspect of my life but at least I can take pride…knowing destiny is a lot easier to handle…when love is by my side.

AN OLD LESSON REDISCOVERED

 

As I walk the same route each morning…everywhere I look…

It’s like re-reading my favorite passage from my favorite book.

Just as every time I read the passage I find subtle changes in the words…

each morning I find subtle changed in the clouds, the trees…the birds.

Which is why, though my route never varies, it’s easy to proclaim…

No two morning walks I take…are ever quite the same.

Take this morning, for instance…a man walked out of the shadows as I was walking near the shore…A man I’ve never seen on my morning walks before.

He was huge…unshaven…his hair disheveled…his clothes were tattered and torn…it was just him and me…alone…together…in the darkness of the morn.

As our paths met on the street he raised to his full height…looked at me, smiled and said, “Is this not a beautiful night?”

I breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, nodded…and we talked about the stars…I mentioned how clear the night sky was…he pointed out Jupiter and Mars.

As we parted I was reminded of a lesson I learned long ago…but this morning I rediscovered…it has to do with a book and not to judge it by its cover.

And, if I may, to this lesson let me add a second part…you can’t always tell from the outside…what’s inside a person’s heart. 

POETRY

 A question often asked of the old poet is how she does it…how do the verses she write come to be…A question often asked of the old poet is where does she finds her spark…the inspiration…for her poetry.

The old poet smiles and, I imagine, people think she’s playing a game…when she says, “My answer may be different today than yesterday…but it will always be the same.”

“Whenever I see two people meet for the first time…whenever I watch a friendship begin to grow…I discover in those moments…there is poetry in hello.”

“Whenever I see two people holding hands or kiss…whenever I see sorrow on a face appear I discover in those moments there is poetry in love…and there is poetry in tears.”

“Whenever I hear the melody of the birds in the morning…whenever I listen to a voice sing beautifully and strong…I discover in those moments…there is poetry in song.”

“Whenever I see a person painting…whenever a painting touches my heart…I discover in those moments…there is poetry in art.”

“Whenever the shifting clouds…a rainbow…or a sunset makes me sigh…I discover in those moments…there is poetry in the sky.”

“Whenever I see a couple dancing…watch the trees bend in the wind…or the waves undulate upon the ocean…I discover in those moments…there is poetry in motion.”

“And whenever I see friends and family gathered round a loved one who is about to die…I discover in those moments…there is poetry in goodbye.”

“This is where I find my inspiration”…the poet smiles as she happily exclaims,

“And If you ask me tomorrow my answer might be a little different…

but it will always be the same”.

WALKING WITH THE MOON

 

Today I woke up early…as I am prone to do…before the ebony of night gave way to morning blue.

As I stepped outside to walk listening to the crickets croon…the sky was illuminated ever so softly by the light of a crescent moon.

Crescent moons always fill me with hope…it’s the classic push and pull…as some see the moon half empty…while I see it half full.

There is so much I wonder about the moon as she welcomes in each morn…I wonder if, out of her crescent-ness, a baby’s smile is born?

Does she revel in the silence of the world she oversees?

Does she know how beautiful she is as she shines down through the trees?

Is she content with her nightly routine…or…when all is said and done…has she ever dreamed what it’d be like to be a planet or the sun?

Does she realize, as I do when I step outside my door, how neither one of us is exactly the same as we were the night before?

Does she know how many lovers in her soft glow have been made to swoon…when they exchange their hearts and promise each other the moon?

Does she hear us when we thank her…the moment we become aware…how she adds enchantment to the evening…just by being there?

Perhaps that’s why I love rising so early…and listening to the crickets croon…because I don’t want to miss one morning…walking with the moon.

VISITING HOURS IN HEAVEN

The young son came to his father…not long after his Grandpa had died…with tears still lingering in his eyes…eyes that were open wide.

“I know that Grandpa’s gone,” he said, “and at the funeral we said goodbye…but is there anyway to visit him in heaven…or do I have to wait until I die?”

“There are always visiting hours in heaven.” Dad said. “But to heaven you don’t have to climb…because heaven has made it easy to visit Grandpa…any place…at any time.”

“If you close your eyes and think about Grandpa…quickly you will see…you can visit him anytime you want…where he lives…in your memory.”

“And if you ever have a question for him…here’s what you need to do…ask your question…close your eyes…listen…Grandpa will answer you.”

“You see, heaven is not just the place people go when from this world they depart…I believe each of us has a little piece of heaven…right here…inside our heart.”

“It’s the way we were created…the way we were designed…it’s where those we love, before they go, leave a piece of themselves behind.”

“And when we want to visit them…this moment…or long after they have died…we only need to close our eyes…think about them…and take a look inside…”

“Look inside your heart…right now…that’s what I’m going to do…that’s where you’ll find your Grandpa…waiting patiently for you.”

Dad held his son’s hand in his…said, “lose your eyes”…and with their fingers interlaced…

“Hi Dad!”

“Hi Grandpa!”

You could hear them whisper…

as a smile lit up each face.

 

THE UNEXPECTED

 

One thing I’ve learned about life…in all the memories I’ve collected…is hot to embrace the unanticipated…the unforeseen…the unexpected

Oh, I still believe in planing trips with forethought, caution and care…but I’ve found unplanned moments can lead to happiness…I didn’t know was there.

I remember on a well-planned trip with Deborah…to Chattanooga, Tennessee…a wrong turn down a wrong street…ended at the Moon Pie factory.

If it wasn’t for that wrong turn…that little glitch in our vacation travel riddle…we would have never discovered Moon Pie makes a sandwich with marshmallow ice cream in the middle.

Thanks to one unplanned, unexpected turn in Chattanooga, Tennessee…Moon Pie ice cream was added to our list…of treasured memories.

I used to be a jogger…a daily routine to which I religiously kept…every morning I’d be out there running while the rest of my family slept.

But years of running…on my knees…was too much of a shock…and after two meniscus surgeries…my run became a walk.

I admit my initial disappointment I found difficult to hide…but when I ran…I ran alone…now I walk with Deborah by my side.

We walk together in the morning at slow and steady paces…enjoying the beauty of the animals, the trees and the breeze upon our faces.

I’m not sure how or why this happens…but I find it altogether stunning…how we see and hear things as we walk…I never saw or heard while running.

I don’t know why these moments come about…how by Fate they are selected…but I know whenever I eat a Moon Pie or take a walk with Deborah…I thank my lucky stars for every memory unexpected.

THE SIMPLEST LOVE STORY

Some people say there are no simple love stories…

and plainly they have stated…

if it’s simple it must not be love

for love is complicated…

They sight example after example

and believe this with all certainty!

But there are others who look at love 

and beg to disagree.

For them, love is simple..

It’s when they realize they’re no longer alone…

and when someone else’s happiness

is more important than their own…

For they know love is easy

and plainly have they stated

the best love is a simple love

and need not be complicated…

For they have known love in their lives

by love they have been blessed…

and they know when it comes to love stories

oftentimes…the simplest…are the best. 

LITTLE EYES

 

Years ago my granddaughter and I were watching the sun set over the ocean…and as we stood there enjoying the view…she said, “Pick me ip PopPop, so I can see as good as you.”

“Why is that?” I asked as I lifted her up and we gazed out at the sky. 

“Because,” she said with the innocence of a child, “I have little eyes.”

I watched a smile engulf her face…I watched her eyes widen within her head…”The view is so much better up her.  Thanks, PopPop.” She said.

You have to admire the way a child’s mind works…there is no pretense….no deception…there is an honesty…a vulnerability in the innocence of their perception.

She was just a little girl then…brimming with purity and charm…who thought the world would look a little different way up in PopPop’s arms.

As we watched the sun paint the sky…as I held on to her…tight

as I saw the expression on her face…I remember thinking she might be right.

My granddaughter is now as tall as me…those days of lifting her into my arms have past…but I pray no matter how tall she grows…her innocence will last.

I hope she never will forget…those days when she was a little bit shorter than me in size…

those days I held her in my arms 

and she saw the world through little eyes.

TRAINING WHEELS

 

Remember when you learned to ride a bike…how the world was all brand new?

Have you ever stopped to think about the all the changes you went through?

Close your eyes…think back..remember how it feels…

You started on a tricycle...then a bicycle with training wheels

Then came the day that changed your world, we all must face them as we grow

The day you knew it was time...for the training wheels to go.

Remember Dad or Mom running behind you; hearing their encouragement…their groans…remember seeing them in the distance…you were riding on your own!

At that moment you were alive and you thought...this bike riding is a piece of cake.

till you remembered they taught you how to ride but forgot to teach you how to brake.

It turns out life is a series of changes we experience along the way

for, like it or not, everything is changing, every second, every day.

Of course we are aware of this...but once in a while we’re a little more attuned

like when Sunday merges into Monday or May turns into June.

And every now and then we take a moment from our normal circadian climb

to think about the changes we’ve encountered within the passages of time. 

A baby changes daily and in no time at all is learning how to crawl

as quickly as the summer breezes give way to the winds of fall.

We blink and that crawling baby is a child, then a teenager on the go

as quickly as the falling leaves of autumn turn into winter snow.

Blink again and that teenager becomes an adult with all the responsibilities that brings.

as quickly as the winter snow lifts revealing the flowers…the colors of spring.

Change engulfs us, it’s inevitable...and though we may not understand why

without it…not one caterpillar would become a butterfly?

Since life will not slow down for us no matter how we’ve tried

I think learning to ride a bike has helped prepare us for the ride. 

After all we need to keep pedaling to stay balanced, we learn from our mistakes,

we feel joy knowing we can ride and knowing when to hit the breaks.

“Oh that’s ridiculous! How can riding a bike prepare us for life?” you laugh…perhaps you scoff…

It’s simple really, it prepares us for all those days…

when our training wheels come off.

WHEN GENERATIONS COME TOGETHER

I love when generations of a family come together…

how they ride happily on our shoulders…when our life is full of sunshine, 

full of light and warm…

and how they hoist us onto their shoulders to help us weather any storm.

When generations come together…

I love how quickly we discern…

each generation has something to teach…

and each has something to learn.

For when generations come together…

when they share their thoughts, their feelings…their hearts…

they take a little of each generation with them when it’s time for them to part.

Knowing the changes may be subtle…

changes, at that moment, they might not see…

but changes that help them blend together…generations of one family.

So they’ll be ready to ride upon our shoulders in our sunshine….

or hoist us onto theirs in stormy weather….

It’s one of the things I love about family…

when generations come together.

 

READING LOVE

 

Love is always changing…growing…it comes in many shapes and sizes

It can bewilder…it can excite…it’s full of wonder and surprises.

It is associated with our hopes, our dreams, our wishes and our needs

and is inextricably linked…with are ability to read…

When we are children…we learn to read the faces of our loved ones…who we see…our parents…our brothers and sisters…members of our family.

When we move away from our family…into the world outside our door…we learn to read love in many different languages…than we ever thought before.

Still a little older yet…we find love can be confusing…and often difficult to read…it can make us happy causing us to smile…or sad causing us to bleed.

We spend many of our adult years seeing how life and love are intertwined

understanding a lot of our time in love is spent trying to read between the lines.

But love softens and illuminates when we’re older…

we begin to cherish it more as art…

for now we are able to sit together 

in silence…

and read each other’s heart.

FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA

I remember looking at Deborah and thinking to myself…how blessed…how fortunate are we…as we drove from our cabin in the mountains…to our home down by the sea.

Blessed to have a life where, one moment, we are able to be…experiencing the majesty of the mountains…and the next…the grandeur of the sea.

Blessed to have in our life…the ability to choose…from two wonders of creation…with two completely different views.

Take sunsets for instance…the same sunset…but both as different as can be…as the sun seems to nestle behind the mountains…but swan dive into the sea.

It’s as if the sun works harder to settle in the mountains…climbing through the trees and in and out of caves…while setting in the ocean…all she does is ride the waves.

It reminds me of the highs and lows of life…on our daily roller coaster ride…sometimes we find ourselves climbing…other times…we’re floating on the tide.

But one of the wonders of a sunset…is that each one is brand new…and whether we’re climbing or we’re floating…we must find time to enjoy the view.

For enjoying the view is, I imagine, most important…in life…it is the key…whether the sun is nestling behind the mountains…or swan diving into the sea.

 

HER CHILD

 

They didn't know each other as children…their seeds of love were later sewn…when the two of them were older…when the two them were grown.

At least that’s what he thought at first…but he quickly had his doubts…for he falls in love with her child…every time she lets her child out.

Her child comes out so often…it’s like he married a set of twins…never knowing where her adult might end…and where her child begins.

After spending a lifetime together…even now, when they’re old and gray…he falls in love with her again…every time her child comes out to play.

In fact he loves to watch the transformation…loves every glimpse of her child at play…and as they spend the rest of their life together…he wouldn’t have it any other way.

GPS AND PEACH COBBLER

 When our children were young we decided…whenever we traveled near or far

our vacation started the exact moment we all jumped into the car.

We decided we’d never be in a hurry…we formed a kind of family fellowship 

Realizing arriving at our destination was important but not as important as enjoying the trip.

This made every trip a unique adventure…as off the designated path we’d stray..

It meant we never knew what surprises…what discoveries we’d find along the way.

Our children are all grown now….time travels expeditiously…

But Deborah and I, on any trip we make, still follow our old philosophy.

Which brings me to the focus of this story…we’re in Georgia, driving home to Florida when a ‘Lanes Peaches’ sign we see….we exit the interstate both of us thinking ‘peach cobbler’ simultaneously.

We enter Lanes into our GPS…she’s never steered us wrong despite with her verbiage (Except that one time she wanted us to turn left…in the middle of mile long bridge)

But when she had us turn down a one-lane dirt road…we questioned her directional brilliance…Deborah immediately thought Texas chain saw massacre…for me…it was Deliverance.

But on and on we persevered…our apprehension curtailing our speech….

It’s amazing what two people will endure to partake of a cobbler made of peach.

The dirt road finally came to an end..and after a few more odd turns…I think three

Waiting up ahead of us was Lanes…where our GPS knew she would be.

We sat in the restaurant congratulating ourselves…at how we survived this trip down such a harrowing road….in the best way we could imagine…with peach cobbler…of course…al-a-mode.

Vowing never again to belittle…to doubt…to challenge or second guess…

The true hero this peach cobble story… our very own GPS!

THE CHILD THAT IS NATURE

 

Is it possible nature is but a child?

Let me try to verify:

She loves to play with crayons…

have you seen the way she paints the sky?

She colors over everything…she never stays within the lines...

When she’s hungry her stomach grumbles…

In the wind sometimes she whines.

She laughs at all the little things…she gets tickled by the breeze…

Her attention changes quickly…from the flowers to the trees.

She often cries for no reason…she is changing every day

sometimes...she might smell bad...other times...like a bouquet.

She fills our days with sunshine…she’s a constant source of light

and just like any baby…she needs her sleep at night.

With nature, each day is an adventure…you never know what to expect

perhaps nature…

like a child…

is something we should try more to protect.

MORE THAN JUST A CABIN

 

It’s just a cabin in the mountains Deborah’s parents built over 30 years ago

It’s seen its share of spring flowers, summer rains, autumn leaves and winter snows.

As we’re about to return to Florida I like to sit for a moment…and recall…what is it I love about this cabin…what’s so special about these walls…

I smile…take a deep breath…then right before my eyes

as I look around this cabin…a host of memories float by…

How fast the memories come…how quickly they arrive

of when our children were still children…when Deborah’s parents were alive…

The games we played at the table…it really isn’t hard

to see our grandchildren playing where our children once played

running up and down the yard…

The hours spent out on our porch…rocking in these rocking chairs…paper airplanes launched from the top deck…beans slingshot into the air..

All the campfires we have gathered around…watching fires roar…

telling stories, roasting marshmallows…building our s’mores.

Friends who visited us while we’ve been here…people sleeping on the floor…the cabin filled with laughter…all these memories I adore…

I know what it is about this cabin…why it keeps us so enthralled…

It’s because of all the memories…we’ve painted on its walls…

Memories have this wonderful duality…once they’ve formed within our mind…to travel with us wherever we go…but also to stay behind.

Reminding us this is more than just a cabin…

reminding us no matter how far from here we roam….

our memories will be waiting….

the next time we come back home.