Memories
I’m grateful for the good moments…
Last summer was one of those times when I wasn’t doing very well physically. My body had been reacting to more and more foods, so my stomach was always in turmoil and it was very difficult to eat anything. I had lost so much weight that I was feeling very weak and more tired than usual, so I didn’t have a lot of good days at the time, at least in a physical sense. There was one day, however, that we decided to take the younger kids to the mountains for a picnic. Since I didn’t have to drive and I had my husband’s help to get everything ready, I felt that I was able to go on the little adventure. It turned out to be a really good day! While I was there, I actually had more energy and felt pretty good. Being in nature has always had a way of perking me up. Our girls wanted to make a “fort” out of long poles that were lying all around the ground. They were pretty scattered, so we had to spread out and find each pole, then drag it back to the central location of the fort. We ended up needing a lot of poles, and we made trip after trip to gather them. I really wanted to be involved in this project; I wanted to have fun with my children, and I hadn’t done anything like this for a long time. It also brought back memories from my own childhood. So I kept working with the kids and we figured out a design and built this fort, based on my daughter’s idea to build it around four strong trees that were close together, with poles on three sides and across the top. I was tired when it was all finished, but not exhausted, which really shocked me. It ended up being such a good day, and I was able to do something I hadn’t done in a very long time, along with making some wonderful memories.
As I was scrolling through my pictures on the computer to find this image we had taken, I scrolled past many pictures that brought back other memories. It made me realize even more how much I have to be grateful for. I was reminded of so many happy experiences and moments that I had been able to have. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up on the bad moments in our lives, especially the ones that seem to go on and on for a long time. During those times, we often forget about all the good times and all the blessings that we really do have. I’ve found a new hobby now, that requires very little effort or thought… scrolling through old pictures on the computer and bringing back a lot of great memories. This seems to lift my spirits and gives me hope that there will be more good days ahead. It also reminds me to put my energy into the things that matter most and to really make my moments count.
