What do YOU do to keep your memories?
Do you scrapbook?
Take LOTS of pictures?
Write in a Journal every night?
I have HUGE fears..
Fears of LOSING my memories.
Think “The Notebook”.
I don’t want to lose my feelings, my fun, my memories!
So? What to do? What to do?
MAKE THEM LAST!
Make them EVERY DAY!
Never let it be a “ONE TIME” thing.
Relive them over & over!
This has been a hard week for NORCAL.
WE ARE ON FIRE!
Literally…
This fire (BUTTE FIRE) is too close to my family.
(I cringe as I write this.. too close to home!)
Think GOLD MINERS!
MINER 49’ers!
YEP!
This is what is being destroyed by this fire.
The Foothills. The small mining towns. California HISTORY.
So sad..
You see…
My family does NOT have a good relationship with FIRE!
I carry many BAD memories of it!
In 1990..right after my sisters’ had moved home from college..
My parent’s house…
the house I had grown up in..
Burned to the GROUND!
(Well the red brick facade in the front was still standing)
1800 sq ft., 4 bedroom 2 bath, with a swimming pool, on 1/3 acre…
I did NOT live there ( Hubby & I had 3 boys under the age of 5 ),
BUT I was effected, A LOT!
When the roof caught fire…
I watched the ceiling fall in MY BEDROOM!
MY BEDROOM!
Not on TV, not in the movies, MY BEDROOM!
Fire is NOT my friend.
I watched my parents make split-second decisions
about which items they cherished the most!
What do you want the fire fighters to bring out? NOW!
PICTURES….PICTURES…PICTURES
Family collections weren’t even considered.
Who cares about your clothes, blowdriers, shoes?
Just get out!
And they did.
ALL were fine.
KINDA.
It took a long time to realize what had been taken
..yes taken..by the FIRE.
“THINGS” can be replaced.
You can buy a bed, furniture, dishes, clothes, etc.
Think about your CHRISTMAS ornament collection.
The one’s your kids made in school, church, preschool.
GONE!
Cannot be remade.
Baby’s first Christmas only happens once.
I can purchase a new ornament..but it’s NOT the same.
I remember the Christmas after the fire…
(the fire was in Nov. 1990)
My mom bought a “FAKE” tree
(we never had a FAKE tree)
AND
we bought a BOX of ornaments.
We decorated the FAKE tree in the rental house..
SO instead of feeling beaten down, saddened to tears, what to do?
What to do?
BUY A CAMERA!
WHAT?
Buy a camera.
A really GOOD ONE!
Take pictures! A LOT! Put them EVERYWHERE!
Look at them daily!
Giggle when you see the silly ones.
Smile when you see your family.
Dream when you see that “far away” twinkle in someone’s eyes!
You cannot STOP! You keep moving on!
You REBUILD!
And that’s what my parents did.
We had my sister’s engagement party in a “rental house.”
Not in the the backyard of the house you had lived your whole life in!
It didn’t matter!
WE were ALL there! Together!
Making MEMORIES! New memories!
And so.. I try to forgive FIRE.
It did not CHOOSE my parents’ home.
It happens. Now what?
Make NEW Memories!
And so today.. I DID!
This is my MEMORY wreath.
I started it 5 years ago.
Every year I add more grapevines
FROM MY GARDEN.
I grew them. I harvested the grapes. I pruned the vines.
It just reminds me of how much we have to
remember in a year.
I sat there staring at it.
Remembering ALL the things that have happened this year.
Smiles & tears.
The giggles, the hard work, the fun we have had…
Never let a minute go by.
Take notes.
Write letters to YOURSELF!
Do whatever YOU need to to hold ON to the memories.
They are YOURS.
Never let go!
P.S. Please..if you pray..
add the many people of Northern California
to your prayer list.
We need it!
And remember….
That was great your amazing
Wow that made me cry