If you knew that the world would end tomorrow, what would you
do today? What memory would you want to hold onto for all eternity?
I would simply “hang out” with my parents and sisters at the family
farm. I would not try to reflect on my life because it would only make me
depressed, and it would be too late to change things anyway. Instead, I would
concentrate on enjoying my family, who are the most important things in
my life anyway. What I would like would be for us to talk.
I would like to ask the questions I have never been able to ask. I would
ask LeAnn to talk about our childhood from her viewpoint, because I crave
reminiscing with someone who shares my memories. I would ask Nancy where
she finds her incredible strength. I would ask Brenda what it felt like to
grow up almost an only child, with much-older siblings. And I would like to
tell them things. I would tell LeAnn that I always felt closest to her even
though I ended up spending a lot more time with the others. I would tell
Nancy that she is my hero. I would tell Brenda that she has brightened our
lives with her presence and we are so glad God chose to send our complete
(we thought) family an “afterthought.”
And the memory I would like to hold onto would be either of two. There
was the wild and crazy Christmas that was the only Christmas our entire family
has spent together since we kids grew up. Seven adults and six children crammed
in a tiny living room. A pile of presents so high you could barely see the
tree. A homemade cardboard fireplace covered with stockings belonging to
kids of all ages. Lots and lots of laughter.
And there was the Easter where Mom hid Brenda’s Easter basket so well
she almost didn’t find it, and the children raced around hiding and re-hiding
Easter eggs, one of which somehow ended up getting forgotten in Dad’s slipper.
There is a picture Mom snapped that day of us four girls. It’s a horrible
picture. We are laughing so hard our faces are all red and splotchy. I can’t
even remember what was so funny, but it somehow epitomizes the entire day.
Yeah, either of those memories would serve for eternity.
