I spent most if not all of tonight re-living about 7 years worth of memories. It was basically a high-level reading of over 1000 blog entries and I found the experience quite fascinating. Why fascinating? Is my life that unbelievable that what I’ve lived through is so captivating? Well… yes, actually 🙂 But it’s not just that.
What really amazes me is that when the past is looked upon through the veil of time, age, and experience, what really bubbles to the surface is just how *much* stuff we’ve lived through! In everyday conversations it’s quite easy to lose the details of a lot of events. But when you’re reading through your personal history, and those specific memories are triggered, it’s like… wow. How did we do it?! 🙂
The best/ quickest example is just taking the events of children. Charlize and her open-heart surgery; Kyle and his asthma and allergy attacks. Two “general” examples which summarize soooo many events. Re-reading those events brings home the fact that if it weren’t for the need to see everything through to (and believing in) a healthy end, it would be extremely easy to fall apart and cease to function (as a parent, as a person).
All this, of course, doesn’t even bring up the memories/ stories/ events of the whole 9 months of going through the Pregnancy, Delivery, and bringing Baby Home phases! Those, as well, can sometimes feel like a lifetime on their own! 🙂
So I say, again, how grateful I am that my wife and I have kept a journal for so many years, simply because these memories might not matter much to those outside of ourselves, but they’ll matter to our children and our eventual grandchildren. After all, the same way I wish I knew my own Parents and Grandparents better than I do, it’s only natural that those “to come” will want to know about our lives, our trials and tribulations, and ultimately, our incredible joys.
And you know what? That’s just something you’ll never be able to get through Facebook or Twitter.