New Memories

Jeffrey Mindell

I’m moving next week, so this week has been full of the inevitable packing crunch.  There’s something about moving that makes you appreciate all the things that you’re leaving behind.  I’ll miss the simple things about my old house, such as the light conversations on a summer’s day with my neighbors as we passed, getting the mail or doing lawn chores.

I’ll miss certain trees that I planted and watching with pride as they grew taller each year.  I’ll miss the walking route my wife and I took on warm evenings.  I’ll miss “my” room that held “my” stuff exactly arranged and decorated the way I wanted.  And most of all, I’ll miss the memories that accumulated over the years inside these particular walls.

It’s been years since I’ve seen some of the pictures that I’m now digging up in drawers and boxes stuffed in random corners.  Trips I took long ago, people that I met, connected deeply with, and then grew away from.  I wonder what they’re doing now.  Whether they’re happy. 

I wonder if they’ve ever found a picture of me in one of their random boxes or drawers and if they remember me as fondly as I remember them.  I wonder if it feels strange to them that they miss me, even though we only knew each other for such a short time, and if they wonder if they’ll ever see me again in this life, and if that makes them sad.

The nostalgia makes me think about my current life.  Life always seems happier and more exciting in pictures.  So often you only appreciate how special those times were when you see them captured in a still frame.  But then I think about my life to come, the pictures that will be taken and stuffed away into some box or drawer. 

How will I feel about my current life in 20 years when I happen upon pictures yet to be taken?  Who will I miss that’s no longer in my life?  What moments will I recognize as special, that felt so ordinary as the camera flashed? 

I don’t know the answer, but I do know that with my new house there will be many beautiful new memories.  New neighbors that I will chat with while getting the mail.  New trees to plant and watch grow.  A new room to decorate and make my own.  A new home to create. 

My intention is to remember to appreciate all the moments that will make up the special memories found in boxes and drawers in years to come.

Jeffrey Mindell is a writer, cartoonist, lawyer and all around nice fellow.  He can be contacted at jmindell@gmail.com