Making Memories

A New Year begins, but we never completely forget the past one. Memories connect our years and compose the very fabric of our lives. Happy memories we tuck safely within our hearts to encourage us during darker times. Unpleasant memories we often file away in the recesses of our brains and try to forget. As long as we live we never stop building memories.

Although with age they may find it sometimes challenging to recall certain details, elderly people often enjoy sharing their memories. By telling about their past, they have a chance to relive it while entertaining those who take the time to listen. Younger listeners may have history brought to life as they listen to stories told by people who actually lived through those times.

Once we complete our earthly journey, we leave memories with our loved ones. Memories forever bond us to one another. Hearing a particular song, sniffing a familiar scent, or observing certain signs from nature often remind us of dearly departed ones. Through memories we may feel a continued sense of communication with those who are no longer with us. These ties we have with loved ones who have passed can be powerful. In some cases they are so strong that survivors relate feeling their presence during critical times in their lives.

In a more deliberate way, we can choose to remain in touch with those we have lost through writings they left behind. Before his passing my dad began writing his memoirs. As I read these stories he wrote about his life when he was a young man, I get a glimpse into past events that shaped him to become the person I knew. His writing style, the words he used to convey his thoughts and the emotions be brought forth through his descriptions, all keep his memory close to me.

No matter which season in life we find ourselves, we have a need to communicate. Infants communicate with their parents by crying when they are hungry, tired, wet or in pain. Parents sometimes can even distinguish the complaint by the type of cry! As babies grow a little older, they add gestures, facial cues, and body language to their communication tools. Our almost six month old granddaughter, for example, rubs her eyes when she is sleepy, often smiles when we talk to her, and reaches for things that interest her. Babies’ babblings evolve into first words, then sentences, and later progress to putting those sentences together into complete thoughts.

Watching communication develop throughout childhood can be equally fascinating as children begin to enhance and clarify those thoughts through the use of descriptive adverbs, adjectives, and logical sentence structure. Maturation of these basic skills during the teen years and adulthood makes it possible to further expand one’s contribution to the world. Communicating ideas, sharing information, and telling stories are just a few of the ways we can do this.

In addition to mastering the spoken word, we continue to add gestures, body language and facial expressions throughout life to either emphasize or even replace some of our spoken words. Did you ever stop to think about how many things we communicate to one another without saying a single word? A look, a handshake, a rolling of the eyes, can speak volumes without a single sound being uttered.

Interestingly enough, when something happens to alter someone’s communication abilities, such as an accident or suffering a stroke, that person may return to the beginning stages of language development. Unable to speak or to find the right word, he or she might use sounds, gestures or even another word relating to the one being sought. And reminiscent of the way parents of infants instinctively know their babies’ needs, those closest to that person often know what their loved one is trying to say.

One of the things I like best about living in the Northeast is watching the change of seasons. Each season holds its own special beauty and I enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells each one brings. Not surprisingly, as I live each new season, my mind returns to memories of seasons past.

Fall, for example, brings forth images of attending our town’s annual festival when I was a child. The crisp autumn air carried the sweet aroma of donuts and the drone of the auctioneer’s voice from the center stage. My eyes feasted on the assortment of prizes at each of the booths lining the perimeter of the event, and I hoped to win one of them to bring home. At home, fall meant a time for decorating the house in warm autumn hues, the scent of freshly picked grapes, and preparation for the upcoming holidays.

As an adult, I know fall is here when I hear the sound of geese flying overhead. A neighbor has a pond where they often stop on their journey south. We put out the birdfeeders for the birds that winter here, and the chipmunks scurry around gathering food for the long winter ahead. Watching the bright colors of summer fade into fall can be both breathtaking and a little sad, as we watch the earth take on a new type of beauty.

Watching these wonders of nature often reminds me of the seasons of life and the beauty in each one. Through my ever-changing surroundings I have the privilege of continually reminiscing about each of the stages of life that I’ve experienced so far and savoring memories of each one.