I must admit, it caught me totally off guard. While checking for upcoming events, there it was, the Facebook notice reminder that Jacqie’s birthday was just around the corner. Except this year, Jacqie wouldn’t be celebrating her birthday; the cancer finally made sure of that. But as I looked at her profile photo, I couldn’t help but smile and send her a hug through the air waves. Although she was now gone, she certainly was not forgotten.
Jacqie’s profile photo, and that spontaneous but fleeting connection it provided, suddenly turned my thoughts to all of the tangible treasures that connect me to my past. Almost every room of our home holds a nugget of my history, a remnant of years long gone, a thread to memories still treasured. To others, they would likely be meaningless objects to dust and take up space. But to me, these heirlooms of the heart help fill the spaces left by those who have since passed on.
My thoughts then wandered to customers I’ve had and emails I’ve received, overjoyed at finding something of their past they thought was forever lost to the fading memories. Childhood memories, first loves, and each milestone of life that follows, the impressions of the heart are personal, sometimes private, but always special, even if only to us.
I don’t know the relationship others might have with their nostalgic connectors, but for me, holding the memories in my sight and sometimes in my hands helps me to in turn hold the humility of being human in my heart, and that face-to-the-sun sensation reminds me of the transient nature of each of our existence.
And so, as my awareness returned from the mental journey that Jacqie’s profile picture started, I had renewed appreciation for the fleeting connections that are sparked by a glimpse into the past, as seen through the lens of the tangibles of today.
To Jacqie and all of our friends and loved ones who inspire our collections, here’s to a new dimension on birthdays — may your memories live on.
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