Memories and Moving On

It's been a long time since my daughter's baby things were packed up, a bit more than 20 years to be exact! But now the house where she grew up is being sold and boxes stored long ago must be examined and decisions made about their contents.

Sitting on top of the very first box we opened, was a quilt my now deceased mother had lovingly hand made. There were crocheted sweaters and tiny holiday dresses, blankets, tiny shoes, crib mobiles and music boxes...all the trinkets and trappings provided by friends and family to celebrate the arrival of a new and precious life.

The memories in those boxes were not just of my baby girl's first years but of all the people who were in our lives more than 20 years ago. Family, neighbors, friends...some who have passed on, many who have moved on. As I looked through the cards sent by well wishers, I tried to remember their faces, their homes, their lives...I wondered where they were now and how their lives had transpired.

Mostly the memories were sweet, some bittersweet and some nearly forgotten. As I sat on the floor with my now adult daughter and talked about when she had worn those shoes and who it was who had written that note, my heart swelled with joy at the sight of the lovely young woman who had grown from that tender infant I had held in my arms over two decades before.

One of my resolutions for the New Year is to look forward, to leave the past behind with no regrets. But, today's stroll down memory lane was a lovely remembrance of people who may no longer be present in my life, but will always be remembered in my heart.