Landon posted the other day on FB. I didn't even know about it until it had been there a while. He said some very special things that tore me up inside, in the very best way of being torn up inside.... I couldn't hold this one back at all... it just power punched me right in the heart and I was a pool of goo after that....literally I think I just melted onto my knees.
First: The photo.... How on earth did he get this?? I don't even remember owning this one. Rod Manning was my companion in Portugal when I served my mission for the LDS Church back in....uh oh...are you ready? 1985. Landon is on the right, looking better....as he should, with his last companion in Edmonton. What a cool pic! I will treasure this one....
Second: The honor......What an incredible way to honor this long standing LDS tradition of serving missions. Mine changed me and my life forever... I believe Landon's has done the same for him.
Third: The gratitude.....this is pretty profound for me. Other compliments are wonderful. This one....wow... kinda can't really express or completely take in yet. It is like the water overflowing a pitcher in the sink... not enough room. I think of all the people in my life that it took to help form my choice to go. Too many people, not enough words. This is just so very deep and special to me.
So what is the lesson? Do good things... all the time, 'cause someone is watching and you truly never know what the ripple effect can be....
You think that sometimes it is the things you say that might be the biggest part of parenting.... finding the right words, saying them the right way, trying to never miss those teaching moments that are so fleeting... but this is a reminder that maybe one of the best parenting practices was about something I did vs said. Especially crazy since my mission was 30 years ago, long before I was a parent. Interesting to now hear Landon's thoughts and feelings about what I did so many years ago, now continues to influence him in a pretty significant way.
Humbling is what it is..... and beautiful too. I love you more than you will ever know. Thanks for taking the time, sharing your words, hoping and knowing that I would love it. Thanks for your generosity.
Landon.... I can't really find the words to express the gift you just gave me. I will find room for it, and I will make a special place to honor it with you. A trophy, a legacy, an echo of eternity.....
Thank you.
谢谢
Have you experienced those moments where you hear a song and suddenly you are taken immediately back to a particular memory? Sometimes it can be a smell, a phrase or even a word that can trigger those memories. It is an amazing experience that almost takes on a life of its' own.... you weren't thinking about that time, place or person, but suddenly in an instant, you are there, fully immersed in the whole experience all over again. Not only do the details seem crisp, but you can almost remember the smell too.... Mostly what you remember though is the feeling. The sensation of your whole body reliving each step all over again. A smile forms, time stops and you forget the here and now for a brief moment. The music has this magical quality of stirring up these forgotten photographs, like finding an old book on the shelf and pulling it out, dusting it off, looking at the cover for a moment before opening the cover to find some name and date of someone who gave you that book. A smile forms as you remember the circumstance of how you received that book, the person who generously, graciously and thoughtfully placed it in your care as a gift. Then you begin to fan through the pages......Underlined or highlighted passages jump out...you re-read those golden nuggets that made an impact then, and probably still do. You think about how the power of a few words and how they shaped who you are now, how you think, and the choices you made since.... You pause, reflect and retrospect..... yes... the meaning still remains....still after all these years.. still relevant, still deep, still immovable. Somehow, it is still important now even though the book has been passively waiting on that shelf for years. It is as if it knows it's own role.... to be consistently there until that next impulse moment causes it to be drawn again..... It knows it will still stir the heart like disrupting a pile of leaves on a blustery windy day. It is very patient and somehow.....knowing isn't it?
"Remembering" to me.....is the sound of one million memories...
Memories that really never fade, rather they get put aside....just out of reach at times. But once remembered, they are amazingly "present", ready at a moment's notice to do their job. To articulate every detail, every emotion, every element that composes that memory, to help us "remember".... The subtle "creak" of the memory door is that sound of a million memories..... Remembering is the invitation to open..... return and drink deeply from never-ending well of mind-blowing emotions. Every memory is its own unique destination-- it's own language, culture, tone, and timbre.... it knows its' own feel. That feeling is never forgotten
I am hearing a lot of "creaks" these days..... kids leaving home, changing jobs, friends no longer seen.... I am grateful that when I hear them that what comes after is almost always inviting, beautiful and so often feels like "home"..... like falling water over rocks... the hard part comes in knowing I can't stay.... I have to wake up....yes, maybe even "grow up", to return to today in order to find what it takes to make the next memory for future perusing and visiting.
May you hear the "creak" of your own remembering...that you too can return, soak, learn and marvel at what you find....nothing is so sweet and powerfully moving than those little "trips" that capture your imagination, refine your purpose and reminds you who you really are.... Remember well.
"The Sound of one million memories is the eternal echo of a life well lived"
