Remembering

Remembered joys are never past, they're simply tucked away,

Deep in a corner of our hearts that we call yesterday.

And sometimes, on a sunny day beside some quiet stream,

With breezes blowing through the trees, it's nice to sit and dream....

To watch the sunlight through the leaves, and in it's golden glow,

To see the patterns that it weaves upon the stream below.

The water, like a mirror, shines with sweet reflections of

Those dear, remembered yesterdays, so filled with joy and love.

Helen Farries



 “Sometimes the only vacation spot is the past,” King Arthur said in Camelot, and I found that true. On the days that were really hard I sometimes let my mind slip back to happy memories.

I remembered the cabin, sitting on the back porch in the the evening, looking down the hill at the leaves shimmering in the cool breeze. I remembered standing on the trail, looking across the cabin and trees to the mountain far away and thinking I never wanted to forget that scene. I memorized every detail of the quiet, calm picture so that years later I could see it again and feel comforted.

I remembered the creek, always cool and clear and shallow. The laughing water, skipping over stones, slipping silently into ponds. I remembered one summer day when we were swimming and I lay, floating on my back, watching the ceiling of green leaves dancing in the sunlight like a million diamonds, cool and refreshing.

I remembered summer storms. The thunder and lightening and pounding rain, warm rain. And the palm trees across the street blowing wildly in the wind. I imagined I was in Hawaii in a tornado, or in the Virgin Islands like in the books I read.

I remembered the smell after rain, the world washed clean. It was the most wonderful smell in the whole world. Or sitting on the windowsill in my bedroom, pretending I was in a beautiful garden with green plants everywhere. Or the lake at night, with lights from the marina glistening across jet black water, the waves lapping against rocks and boat. I remembered the quiet, the calm, the warm silence of a summer night, and everything so still.

I remembered Usury Pass at night, with the city lights like a diamond necklace stretched across black velvet. I remembered the crickets and coyotes singing together, and the smell of charcoal and roasting meat. I remembered lamp light, mesquite trees, desert smells, and the funny feeling in my stomach, not knowing what to say or do but being so happy to be with someone special. I remembered the desert, cactus flowers, blue skies, white clouds, rocks, and the smell, especially after rain.

Those were my treasures, tucked away in my mind, hauled out when I needed to calm my soul or my tears, and make myself smile.