The thing is...

On Tuesday I was visiting a 74 year old woman in the Hospital. This has become a pretty routine event for me this semester but this woman stood out to me. The conversation went something like this:

Me: How's your heart?
Her: I suppose my new pacemaker is doing just fine. But I'm a little sad today.
Me: Why's that?
Her: Today is the anniversary of my son's death.
Me: I'm so sorry. How long ago did he pass?
Her:43 years ago.

Grief is just like that sometimes. I asked her to tell me about her son and even if for only a moment we celebrated his short life. As I was talking to her I realized that sometimes pain can come or go as it chooses. Some things are just sad, and there is a time to be sad for them. Too often I find myself trying to avoid the sadness and yet somehow by fully experiencing that emotion is paying my respects. I was also struck by the conversation because even in her grief she had great joy in remembering his life. It made me think that perhaps I spend so much of my time avoiding being sad about the storm that I also in turn miss out on the joy in remembering too.

So I take joy in sharing some of my favorite memories of home...

-My senior year we had a baby shower for a woman named Carla from church. There were so many people in the house and we had the best time. I remember how much fun it was to entertain all the people that I loved the most.
-On my 8th birthday I had my first slumber party. A handful of third grade girls and I played dress up and had a fashion show, watched the litte mermaid about a million times and got to decorate our very own birthday cakes with my mom's best friend who worked at a bakery. Funnest birthday ever.
-Many Easters we went to a crawfish boil at a family friend's house. There's something about news paper covered tables in the back yard and big boxes of spicy crawfish that makes my heart so happy. :)
-Riding the street car with my dad for one of our dates in middle school when we went and saw a play at the Saenger. Now I can't remember what play it was but it didn't really matter anyways...
-I don't think I have ever seen Jesus so clearly than on the last night of kid city camp the summer of the hurricane. We were all standing in the hallway in the back getting ready to go out on stage and the kids started singing Shake the Devil off one last time before they had to go out for the show. It was glorious.
-King Cake parties, and mardi gras balls, and parades, and beads, and all that stuff that is Carnival. I never thought I would miss it because it gets a little crazy but I so do.
-Sneaking up the bell tower and climbing on the roof of the church to hold hands with a boy. We were so cool back then. haha
-Beignets for breakfast on Saturday mornings

And many others that are just too numerous to list...