by Janet

M is for…

One of my best friends from high school remembers everything. Whenever we talk, she reminisces about our old shenanigans as if they happened yesterday. Things that we did decades ago; things I’ve long since forgotten.

Last year, I (briefly) dated a man who reminded me of her. Our conversations were like time travel; we’d always end up in the 70’s or 80’s! Sometimes I wondered why the two of them weren’t dating. They both had this weird connection to the past—as if that past still existed.

I’m on winter break right now, and I hope to finish the Alphabet Game. I pondered the letter “M,” and there were so MANY to choose from!

Listening to Music under the Moon,
Gazing at stars in the Milky Way,
Meandering streams and Mountain Meadows,
A rainy Monsoon on a hot summer day.

A week ago, that would have summed it up. A short and sweet rhyme composed of all of the “M” words I could think of. BUT, I came upon an old prayer that really struck me:

For all thy blessings, known and unknown, remembered and forgotten, we give thee thanks.

That little prayer made me think. I’m really good at forgetting. Maybe that’s why I have trouble relating to my friend and the ‘time traveler’ that I dated… they both love to remember. I, on the other hand, often choose to forget. I DO tend to live in the future, but that’s another story altogether.

Anyway, remembering is SO important. I have so many blessings to be thankful for, and they’re not just a part of my past, they’re a part of me. Maybe forgetting the past is like forgetting who I am. Ironically, thinking about this made me realize that I’d forgotten one of the most important “M” words of all…

Memories

Maybe my friend and the ‘time traveler’ have one up on me here. They hold tight to their memories because they know how valuable they are. They cherish their pasts. And—as that prayer reminds us—there are blessings unknown. I’m sure many of those blessings are to come, but maybe some already happened. Sometimes we don’t even see our blessings until we sift through the memories.

Maybe they’re things that we cursed at the time; things that didn’t go our way, or things we wished never happened. But when we look back, from totally new perspectives, we see that the things that we cursed were actually blessings in disguise… things that changed our whole trajectory.

When you think about it, so often we receive blessings not because of who we are or what we do, but in spite of those things.  They’re unexplainable, unexpected surprises… like little versions of the most Magnificent “M” word of all…

Miracles

So… today I am thankful for memories and all of the miracles that they hold.

May I never forget.

—-Janet

Have a blessed day everyone! By the way… In two months I’ll celebrate my 4th year of sobriety… it’s a Miracle!!!

25 Comments

  1. Great writing Janet. I call this the persistence of memory. How is it that we remember things from decades ago so well yet at times can’t remember two days ago? ❤️

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    3. Good! I graduated with my AA and am scrambling to choose a University to transfer to. It’s a little intimidating but I am pushing through and supe excited! I will definitely continue to write. After all my indecision I’ve decided that writing is what I want to pursue. Practice, practice, practice. I hope all is well with you. I will catch up on my reading soon lol. 🙂

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  4. Memories are multi-dimensional and contain singular members that make the whole.
    After some time they fall apart so must be re-membered. I used to think I have a great memory, but even that have fallen in on itself.
    It is enough to live today.

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  5. I love this. You’re right, we do need to sift through our memories to catch the blessings in disguise and even the miracles that haven’t been acknowledged. 🤍

    Liked by 1 person

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