We’re left behind with dates, places and smiles of a life time together.
If we were lucky enough to meet at a time when youth was on our side, we were a little naive about the future. It was out there, but it wasn’t really something we mapped out, because IT was always going to be out there. We were unpolished in so many ways. What was “LOVE” any way? Did we even know we were “falling-in” until one day, we just knew that person was THE one?
And so we grew together. We built a memory book filled with home cooked meals, ice skating on frozen ponds, trips to Hawaii, marriage, family: the list goes on and on.
And then the future caught up with us. It wasn’t what we planned on. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. How do we hold on to all those minutes, hours, days, years?
I need to make a memory with a memory. There are the war shirts, Leroy wore when he covered those 15 conflicts. His Hawaiian shirts, that enjoyed so many sunsets on Maui. T-shirts that turned into souvenirs from covering natural disasters to presidential elections. A life on display, hanging in the closet.
But soon to become a memory blanket. A little piece of cloth taken from each garment, stitched together.
A quilt of a grand life, lived to the fullest.
May 25, 2012 @ 8:28 pm
It’s interesting that I, too, took a supply of t-shirts to my friend, to make a “memory blanket.” They were all just being stored in the closet. This is such a huge act of kindness on my friend’s part and that makes it all more special. Where would we all be without our friends?
May 25, 2012 @ 9:04 am
John died at home on June 7th at exactly 11:15 pm. After he took his final breath, I told my son to take off the undershirt that John was wearing. I have it in a plastic bag in my night table. Some nights I take it out……bury my face in it and fall asleep. I can still smell him…… I can almost feel him………..Hope this didn’t sound silly…….still lifting
May 24, 2012 @ 9:32 pm
I hope to do that as well…someday. You will feel all that love wrapped up in those precious memories.
May 24, 2012 @ 9:04 pm
It will be a beautiful keepsake.
May 24, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
What a great way to remember… A coverlet, Something to “snuggle” with, Something to nourish your soul…Memories you can see.