Close your eyes, I have a story
to share if you’ll take a moment and allow me to take you on a journey. We’re going back in time, to the late 1930’s; to a time where things, compared to today, were done very differently.
It was summer vacation
and the kids of that day were always out and about or with their families,
never locked away in the basement, being ignored, with their fingers glued to a
remote control and eyes blurry with the motion on the television.
It was a time when kids
rode bikes, went for walks, took vacations with their families and wore clothes
that covered their bodies. It was a
different world, but emotions haven’t changed all that much.
A pair of girls walked
along the road, they were cousins and hadn’t seen much of each other since one
of the families moved to another province.
They had a lot to catch up on, as girls often do, in the short time the
vacation would allow.
The sun was high, the
breeze ruffled the leaves on the tall trees that lined the street and as the
girls walked further along the road they came across a group of boys on the
opposite side of the street.
Their eyes drifted
innocently, cautiously. One boy stood
out to one girl as handsome. He likely
smiled, and at some point it is certain that each pair of blue eyes locked,
there may even have been a shy exchange of smiles.
Across the road the boys
were more cavalier about the scene. The
girls were pretty, wearing dresses and looking fresh, as summer should.
One boy, the one on the
bike, told his buddies he was going to take that girl, the one he’d set his
eyes on, for a ride.
The boys laughed at his
boldness; naturally.
But he did just as he’d
said. He pulled his bike up next to the
pretty girl and asked her if she wanted to go for a ride.
He wasn’t a stranger,
she knew where he came from and so, feeling good about him, she did, how could
she not? Her heart was all a flutter in
her chest, and the cute boy, the one who’d caught her eye with his handsome
appearance, helped her up onto the crossbar of his bike and took her for a
ride.
That’s how they met, how
the courting began, and when the girl’s vacation was over there were letters,
written by hand and carried to the post, letters to make the miles between them
seem short though at the time they were oh, so far.
Can you imagine hearing
that story seventy five years after the fact and still see the sparkle in that
girl’s eyes? The secret smile that paints her lips as she remembers. Oh how I’ve been floating on a cloud imagining
the scene, for if it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t be here to share it with you, for
you see that girl and that boy were my grandparents.
Our attitudes, our sense
of entitlement towards all we believe the world owes us, the façade we paint on
our faces each day before we leave the house, the pain we hide with a smile to
ward off chatter or the way we simply hide who we are to get through each day. Or here’s the kicker, how we hardly ever look up to see what’s in front of us
anymore; we’re all too wrapped up in our cyber world, text conversations or electronic relationships.
When you compare the now
to back then, very little seems the same today in the eyes of the current
generation, but I would argue against that generalized statement. There is a lot that is different, easier at
moments and more difficult in others, but love? Yes, Love. It's the unchanging
bridge we can all understand. Some
things close the gap, wouldn’t you say?
Here's a quick challenge for you as you begin your weekend. Ask your parents, your grandparents, your aunts and uncles how it all happened for them. How did their stories begin.
I am certain you will be surprised, and as their eyes gloss over as they relive those moments from long ago, the gap will be bridged, the time between your life and theirs will grow small. You just may find that life isn't all that different now than it was way, way back then!!
Happy 91st Birthday to one of my most favorite friends, resilient inspiration, trustworthy confidant, and most gorgeous inside and out....to my Grandmother!
Cheers to a beautiful week, folks!
