Let’s Go Back

Time travel is possible, and anyone can do it.

The only machine you need is a memory, and a willingness to allow yourself to remember.

In fact, I did it just two nights ago when I was driving home from my daughter’s house.  The temperature outside was a cool 40 degrees and I had my windows cracked to allow some fresh air in and my radio station tuned to oldies, and then suddenly…

I was 17 again, on my way home from a softball game, windows down, singing along with the songs playing on the radio while the wind blowing in through the windows air-dried my sweat-soaked jersey.  It felt wonderful to recall such good times and I also believe it enlightens the heart because it feels good to feel young.

While it is true that there are some memories that we’d prefer not to recall because it’s too painful to do so, they are there nonetheless, stored forever on the original data storage chip called the brain, and sometimes they pop up without being summoned, because that’s what memories are.

Many times I have had flashbacks, recalling my youth and the trials and tribulations I’ve encountered in this thing that we call life.  Some were good, some were not, but all were lessons learned.

Personally speaking, I prefer to remember the good things, like being able to go into a five and dime store with a quarter and come out with a bag full of candy, curling up on the couch with a blanket and watching Creature Feature, riding my bike all over town, trick-or-treating with a group of friends, tater tots from Biff Burger, and walking home from school.  I love recalling my “firsts.”  First kiss, first love, first viewing of music videos on MTV, and the birth of my first child and the overwhelming joy I felt getting to hold her for the first time.

While I have suffered a broken heart on more occasions than I care to remember, I never have been one to dwell on the bad or the negative because it’s impossible to grow and move forward when you deny yourself the ability to do so.

How often do you recall memories of your childhood, your adolescence, your teen years or any other era of your life?  Remembering the good with the bad are the essence of what has shaped and formed us into who we are today.

I invite you to take the challenge.

Close your eyes, take a deep breath…..and remember.

Let me know how it goes!

Until next time…

Take care and God Bless!!