Dear Reader:

A little thought fluttered by me yesterday morning after reading some of your comments on the amazing man who gives up his only day from work, each week, to honor veterans by cleaning their tombstones and statues. He said in a CBS  video that he can’t think of a another place he would rather be.

The other day I had just finished the second book about this author’s experiences in France…. which involved meeting her future husband, their marriage, becoming parents, and now proud owners of four popular vacation rentals in the Burgundian vineyards…Laura Bradbury.

At the end of this particular book (in the series) Laura is an exchange student and meets Franck for the first time….after months of falling in love she must return home to Canada to start her university career. The parting is almost unbearable at La Guardia airport so Franck yells at her as she walks towards the plane when her flight number is called:

“Not Au revoir ‘until I see you again’ Laura…but A bientot ‘Until soon.’

I love that expression: A Bientot-  ‘Until soon.’ So much hope is attached to that expression…not later but soon…we will be together again.

Don’t we think so many times when we are young and go to cemeteries we think, mistakenly, that death is a lifetime away?…when in actuality is A bientot…”Until soon.”

Mev wrote in a comment yesterday about the importance of maintaining cemetery markers:

“Memories…the continued presence of loved ones…of their love, their touch, their smile…. What an awesome gift God has given us–the ability to replay memories over and over…as often as our heart needs to see, hear or feel them….”

I re-read Mev’s comment and thought how true her statement is. What a gift a memory is…what if we never could remember anything…we would be like little Dorie the movie Finding Dorie.

Poor little Dorie can’t remember anything and forgets everything. As seen in the movie this produces a chaotic, stressful lifestyle. It definitely forces one to live in the moment, but, unfortunately, without memory the moments don’t mean anything.

Memory is an awesome gift, just like Mev said…to be able to pull back a loved one into your life in a second’s notice when you need them again. Then I thought.. that just like “Free Will”…memories can be both happy, sad, and even detrimental to veterans and especially those suffering from PTSD. Some people spend their whole lives trying to bury memories instead of honoring them.

Memory is a gift if used wisely and appropriately. It can bring a smile to our faces…like life…it can enhance our existence or lessen it. The choice is up to us to use this precious gift in the best way possible.

So until tomorrow…Let us remember to share memories with loved ones in the present and past…but most importantly share memories of loved ones for the generations to come…so they, too, come to know those  ancestors who tread before them. Who made them who they are.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh