The older I get the more I just want to live a simple life. I was reminded of this truth a few weeks ago when I was having a conversation with my brother about my grandparents home. He said that he had been trying to remember what the inside of their house was like and that, in his mind, he had been going from room to room trying to remember how each room looked. So, we talked for a while and we compared our memories of the inside of our grandparents home.
Now, while this might seem silly or trite to some people, I found the whole exercise to be quite therapeutic. It is amazing what comes to your mind when you close your eyes and go back in time to a place that was once so familiar. Memories of Granny and Pap and my time spent at 1012 Kent Avenue came flooding back and were displayed in the movie theater in my mind. As we mind paraded through their home we each added our own color commentary to the items and memories we each had stored in the treasure chests of our minds.
Later that day I found myself continuing the exercise on my own. This time, however, it wasn't about the rooms or the items in each room, it was about the two people who made that house a home. I remembered Granny and Pap standing in the kitchen washing the dishes. Granny would wash each piece and then hand it Pap to dry and put away. They never owned a dishwasher or a microwave. For that matter, Granny never learned to drive a car, even though, she was the best backseat driver I ever knew. I thought how they used to love to sit on their back porch on a summers night and just talk. Sometimes Pap used to try and hold Granny's hand while they sat there but then she'd pretend like she was all embarrassed and tell him to cut out that funny business. But I knew she liked it.
It's funny how that when I'm unsure of where I am in life I find myself going back to my roots. To the times, places and people who helped me become who I am today. It's easy to get side-tracked in life; at least, it is for me. And so this trip back down memory lane was a good one for me. I was reminded how God put me in this family and surrounded me with people who loved me and cared for me. While I may not have all of life's answers, God has provided me with examples and memories from my past that reassure me that He was with me then which gives me the confidence to know that He is with me now and He'll be with me in the future.
Be Well.
Bill
