On Sunny Lane: Thanks for the Memories

A nice thing about getting older is that a person has a lot of memories to look back on.

Of course, not all memories are pleasant, so we needn’t dwell on them. And we certainly don’t want to fixate on the stupid things we have done. However, it’s still not too late to learn from our mistakes.

We can thank God for our memories, because some people no longer have them. Nancy Reagan once said it was sad that she and her husband, President Ronald Reagan, could not sit and reminisce, because they had so many good memories.

One of my pleasant memories is sharing holidays with my extended family. There was a time when my two brothers, my sister and I would take turns hosting the celebration at one house or the other. The adults brought their favorite food that was appropriate for the holiday. We spent lots of time catching up on each other’s lives, as we all lived 40 miles apart in four different directions.

Among the four of us, we had 16 children. It was a boisterous, glorious time, with children running in and out of the house; making noise; learning how to peacefully solve conflict with each other.

On Christmas and Easter we had already been to church before our party. At Easter time, we had an egg hunt for the children. One year we even had a beer hunt for the adults.

How times have changed. I am the only remaining sibling. The children live in many different parts of the United States. I see some of them once in a while, but not all of them all at once. Family gatherings are small, when they occur. That is why it is important to cherish those memories.

Now Easter is upon us. We have the story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection to remember. Sweetheart and I have a church family where we can do that together. We will celebrate a special service and have a potluck meal. We are celebrating with different people and making new memories.

There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, maybe, that’s what it is all about.

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Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com