Memories

Yesterday my wife and I spent the day driving around Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.
It is a place that holds many memories for both of us.
As a child, my wife spent some part of most summers there living in the cottage her grandparents had built. Years later, as a young woman, as she and I talked about getting married, the decision about where we would spend our honeymoon was an easy one.
We spent the week after our wedding enjoying the cottage and exploring the lake.
After our children were born, another generation made their way to New Hampshire.
Swimming.
Hiking.
Playing miniature golf.
More recently, we buried her mother’s ashes in a cemetery down the road from the cottage.
As I said, the place is filled with memories.
Family.
Friends.
Favorite places.
Generations…one after another.
Four, at least. Maybe aiming towards five.
Yesterday we spent the day living in the past and the present at the same time.
We took in the beauty of the lake and the mountains.
We walked through the cemetery where her mom and grandparents are buried, once again, noting names and dates.
We had ice cream at the ice cream stand where she had ice cream as a child.
Our day was not about nostalgia, but about memories.
Those moments and places and experiences which link past to present and us to them.
And serve as reminders of what in life is really most important.

Yesterday my wife and I spent the day driving around Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.