It Sorta Seems That I Remember

For some reason yesterday I ran onto a shoebox in a drawer that was stuffed full of pictures, a card or two, and a receipt showing my grandfather, Levi Latty, had a license to drive an automobile. It was dated 1939. Some of the pictures were of my parents, my brothers and sister, nephews and nieces, even before the younger nieces and nephews were born. And there was Clint, looking so handsome and proud in his dress Marine uniform, age 19.I thought how little we knew at the times those pictures were made, what the future held for each of us.

We certainly went our different, divergent directions, this family of mine. We had no idea what lay ahead and maybe, in many ways, that’s a good thing.

Perhaps this looking back was what caused some of my long ago kindergarteners to invade my dreams. I woke up thinking about a couple of them, remembering how endearing they were and thinking of how their lives had turned out or maybe I should say, how they are turning out, for they are still young people although they are grown with children of their own.

Do you ever wake up with the answer to a problem or a puzzle in your mind? Perhaps you had not even tried to think of the solution but when you woke up, there it was, as if someone had told you during the night.

Our minds are marvelous things, full of rememberings, hopes, questions, as well as fears and problems. Sometimes it helps to think back to some of those people I found in the pictures in my shoe box and realize they (we) too had problems and dreams, a mixture of shade and sunshine but they persevered because they had a good deal of courage mixed in. It’s nice to remember.