I hope that wasn’t my last meal.

Irene and I toured many parts of Italy a number of years ago. We were with a touring group and it was fantastic. Everything was ‘included’ in the trip. Flight, accommodations, all meals, touring bus, and our very own tour guide, Dánte. We even had the same bus driver, Marco. The whole shebang, everything. We were showered in luxury, albeit we did pay k$’s for the entire trip. It was all worth every spent penny.

After eating her dinner one night one of our group’s tour guests said “I hope that wasn’t my last meal.” This meal was, as I recall, the only meal that someone did not enjoy. Understanding the statement in literal terms but in a different context than intended, I didn’t get the gist of what she had said until Irene interpreted it for me.

This woman’s statement was a declaration of dissatisfaction for what she had just eaten. She was thinking that if she were to die before her next meal, breakfast the following day, she hoped this meal experience was not her last. She did not want the meal’s unsatisfactory memory that she had just eaten to be on her mind. Morbidly humorous, who can blame her?

There is always a ‘last’ time for something we do, something we say, somewhere we go, someone we see. In retrospect, we should hold onto everything for its memory. There are sometimes moments in day and certainly in our life when we don’t have ‘the camera’ or the phone to take a pic. Irene tells me that those moments are not meant to be captured by an object for viewing at a later time. Those moments are for the mind, they are engraved in our memories and make us who we are.

We never know what lies before us or what our finite future will bring. We are simply mortal beings. Before we go, we should think twice about our words and our actions. Those, after all, are far more important than any meal we have consumed.

Just posted under the Sky tab is an image captured only a couple weeks ago. I don’t intentionally look at Sky to find visual references to life, but after the image has been taken and I am admiring its beauty, I will at times see similarities to things very familiar to me. This is one image that while taking, I admired the visual contrast of light and dark accentuated against the vividly saturated hue of Sky. You’ll see.

Just posted under the Musings tab is man essay titled ‘I’m Not Famous.’ I debated whether to post it under the I Remember tab, as it does reference a memory, but I chose Musings due to it’s self-reflective manner. Fame is an interesting word in that as a noun it points to a state of being. Even that can be viewed from the first, second, or third-person perspective. It’s all relative.

Mom went to heaven today to be with dad. Gib, Kath, and I were there and although there were tears, I was smiling because I knew she was now with dad and our Heavenly Father. Mom never cried, at least in the company of others, and her children were no exception. Like I told dad just five weeks ago, I told mom that I would see her later. Mom is free now, and she doesn’t have to cry.

While listening to a podcast the other day, I heard a reference made to ‘this version of your life.’ I Thought that was pretty cool. A person can portray behavior, a personal being in one fashion on any given day, and then portray themselves differently on the next day. Any given behavior could be sporadic or consistent, however there is an underlying truth to who that person really is.

I have been many people in my life. This version of my life is the best one I think. It’s taken time, a lot of time. And it’s taken a lot of lessons that have been all for me, just like your lessons have been all for you.

Each person, all the events in our lives are there because God put them there. What we choose to do with them is up to us.

We look to the future and think ‘there is still a lot of time’ to get x or y completed. Well, time is relative and before we know it, it’s here already. Where did that time go?, we ask. Doesn’t really matter, it’s gone. Time to move forward.

So instead of wondering or asking ‘Are we there yet?’, it’s time to stay focused on the here and now. Even if the moment has already passed us by, we need to be all-ready for what’s next.

She was my ‘first’, much older than me, and she was married. Just posted under the I Remember tab is an essay titled Mrs. Fleming.

I wonder how clouds vary in structure and sight in different parts of the world. Clouds are all over the earth. There’s got to be a variance. If not by make-up, then by pattern, I don’t know. Something to research. Just posted under the Sky tab is a captivating pic taken earlier today. As always, stunning!

I was in a brand new world
and You held me from the start
without even having a name.

Though I was nervous and afraid
You took me in your arms
and gave me warmth and comfort
from the start.

Who are you?
What is happening?
What is that sound?
What am I feeling?
Where are we going?

Your gentle voice
and soft eyes relaxed me.
Not sure what to do
I just whimpered, and I
gave in to the moment.

This is where I'm supposed to be,
I know it.
This is where I'm supposed to be,
and this is where I'll stay.

We never know where we will go next. It could be into the past, and sometimes it could be the future. But is it our past, and is it our future?

Dreams. There is no beginning and there is no end.

Is infinity and ever expanding time and space the same for me and for you? We may say it is, we may assume that it is. Is it really?

Dreams. They take me places that I sometimes do not want to go.