Memory Snapshot

 There are moments that come to all of us on this journey where the view and the moment overwhelm, not only in the beauty, but the impact of the moment. It is that understanding that this moment is captured in our minds and hearts and will reside there until the very end. These moments come at us in all phases of life, but as I near my 7th decade they seem to have deeper impact on my emotions and spirit. 

Our son and his family had come to Texas for a summer time visit. The visits over the past few years have been infrequent and tenuous when planned. COVID did a number on travel and consequently emotions. So to have them here, to see the cousins all playing and laughing and swimming together was a moment of pure joy. 

At one point we decided to eat lunch at Tacos4Life. One long table for 16 people, grouped according to age with the adults at one end and all the kids at the other end. My kids were all talking and giving each other a hard time about perceived grievances from childhood. I was catching a fair amount of grief for the cars I obtained for their first cars, and all other forms of unfairness in their eyes. 

It was at this moment that I looked down the table and saw my 3 grandsons all bent over some meme on the eldest one's cell phone, the little girls from 8-10 and my eldest granddaughter chattering away, and our littlest sitting on her mother's lap, but engrossed in all the chaos. At that moment my brain took a snapshot. A memory snapshot. One I will carry forever. Then I looked across the table at my bride and sent her a message via telepathy that old marrieds develop. "We done good, girl"

How many of these are left? I don't know. Two years ago I was afraid we had seen the last one already. The oldest is headed to college in a few weeks. The son and his family have headed back to Denver. Holidays are still a gamble with all the events in the world. Will I ever see them all together again? I don't know. What I do know is that I will pull this snapshot out every once in a while and drink in the joy of that moment. 

My hope is that there will be many more gatherings that the brain's camera can just snap shot after shot. But if not, the  newest one will be put in the album to be viewed whenever I want to see my crowd together.

Godspeed to my little band. They have made this the very best journey a guy could have. 

Don

Last Day

 After 32 years in public education my bride is hanging it up. The past couple of weeks have been a little emotional. When she started she was a PE aide which reflected her interest from her college degree. Our youngest one had just started kindergarten and she was able to find this job in the Red Oak ISD which matched her schedule to theirs. 

Then she was moved to the library. It was in this assignment that she found her passion and her place. For over 20 years she managed the library, through generations of students, with numerous changes in administration, she was able to continue in the role that she embraced with all her heart. 

We have stacks of children's books in our house. She would bring them home, read them, remember them, and realize their worth. Many times over the years I would take her lunch and we would sit in the corner and chat and eat. Without fail a student or a teacher would come in looking for a specific book or topic and she would hop up and find it for them offering her opinion on the book and the merits for that child or teacher. She never once acted like it was an inconvenience. I would sit there and marvel at her knowledge and enthusiasm. 

Every year I would participate in the book fairs as the cashier. PTA book fairs were a huge event. On Sunday before that week we would spend a couple of hours setting up the book cases, the tables and the displays, hanging the posters and banners. It was a special sort of moment for me to work with her in a large quiet school building anticipating the sales event. Then on the night of open house I would cash out the ones buying books while she worked the floor. And it was with the same delight in the event that she would help the kids and parents find the just the right book. 

For generations she found the right book for the right child at the right moment. It did not matter the reading level of the child, it did not matter the subject matter, she would ask questions and find just the right fit. Can you imagine the amount of joy in reading that she fostered in those years? A joy that opened eyes and expanded horizons for young minds. She was a wonder worker for all those generations. 

There is a quote I found recently that stated, "The greatest asset in any library goes home at night" It was my greatest blessing that I got to share that home. She was and always will be a librarian. 

But alas, bureaucracies seem unable to let people of passion and dedication stay in the spot where they can fully embrace what they were intended to be. So a decision a couple of years ago was made to "reassign" her. She was heartbroken.  And she was assigned one of the hardest areas to work. Young special needs kids, some not verbal, some not potty-trained, some of them almost her size. In the first semester she would come home with bite marks and scratches and once with a dislocated shoulder. I wanted to find that bureaucrat and have a quiet conversation out behind the gym about the decision. I encouraged her to quit then.

 But if you know my bride you will know that she is strong willed and refused to let them win. She dug in and with the same grace and dedication as she exhibited in the library she made it work. It is this integrity that I find so awe inspiring. She proved to be better than the system that took her away from her passion. 

This is the person they are losing and the person that will have more time to bless the lives of my kids, our grandkids, and me. Children's books will still be stacked up in our house until we are both gone, just in case that one child needs to be handed that one book at just the right moment. 

Godspeed to the love of my life, Beverly Jean Lindsey Jolly. I have always loved you and always will. That is only gotten better because of how intensely proud of you I am.