QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Of Dreams and Dances, originally uploaded by Heather - Infiniti Photography - MI Wedding Photog.

Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.
-American Splendor

For most of us, high school is a time of extreme transition filled with rights of passage. Sweet sixteens, finally getting that long coveted driver's license, prom (or rebellion against it) and, finally, graduation are things we all experience. We anticipate the totem poles of American teenagehood, and then life hits fast forward and we find that we have eclipsed them.

I have a secret promise with myself that I started a long, long time ago. I'm not sure when I first made this pact, or where I picked the idea up from. Whenever I reach one of these milestones, I find a moment for myself and "make a memory." I first breathe in with my eyes closed, absorbing the smells and sounds of where I am. Then, I open them and take in the colors, objects and most importantly, the people surrounding me. I remember the smell of the sea air on a cruise when I was fourteen and had my first kiss, the noise of the drums at my first football game, the flowers on the corsage my date gave me for my senior prom, and the exact look on my parent's faces when I walked across the stage at graduation. I also have made memories of the hard times--my house becoming thimble sized as I drove away to move to another state my senior year, holding my grandmother's hand at fifteen for what I knew would be the last time at the end of her fight with brain cancer, and the tears staining my sister's face as she went through her first heartbreak.

These are some of the snapshots of my ordinary life that I have recorded in complex detail over the years. When the birthday presents are gone, the dance corsages have been thrown out, and the graduation money has been spent, these memories--and the people in them--will always be with me, to conjure up at a moment's notice. So, now you know my secret. When I write to all of you about my experiences, I start with closing my eyes and remembering all of the details I have stored in my brain's address book of memories. Each part of each experience floods back to me, and I feel like I am there, once again. As you have your own unique experiences for the ordinary moments that make life so incredible, I challenge you to pause, take it all in, and make your own memories.I think it is the best gift we could ever give ourselves, don't you?