The Moments That Fill Two Points In Time

Time heals all wounds, time changes us, only time will tell…

We give such credence to the power of time over our lives, but I am convinced that it is not the passage of time that changes us, but the moments that fill two points in time.

I’ve loved reading my friends reflections of where they were ten years ago. Ten years ago, I celebrated New Years Eve with my high school friends who all returned to Chattanooga for the holidays. It was probably the last time we were all together and maybe even the last time I would see a couple of them. It was such an awkward time as we were all freshman in college and even after one semester deemed ourselves changed or reinvented. At midnight, though, we all put aside those changes and giggled over sparklers and sparkling cider as we stood in the cold night air along my country driveway.

That next morning was the last New Year’s Day my dad’s family would all spend with our grandparents, Momsy and Popsy. Popsy passed away later that spring, but on that day, traditions were normal – ham, black-eyed peas, cornbread drenched in honey, football, blazing logs on the fireplace, and huge floor pillows draped with grown children in thick socked feet.

Ten years later, on New Year’s Eve Scooby was snuggled in his crib under blankets, monkeys and frogs, and Joe and I were watching a Burn Notice marathon on tv under dimmed lights. We started this morning off right with bacon and now we watch the Today Show as we wait for the groggies to melt away.

The passage of time didn’t bring this transformation of places and faces, but it was thousands of small and big decisions. Thousands of conversations filled with laughter, processing life, and even tears. It was thousands of miles driven between Raleigh and the places that were once and will probably always be home. It was the losses, the victories, the mistakes, the grace and forgiveness, the love, the humor, the stories we shared that bring us to where we are now, in the shape we are now.

One of my fears has always been that time would pass and all I would be able to see was the starting and ending points – that I would forget the moments in the middle. And not just the events of those moments, but the emotions of those moments. This is one reason I write – to remember. Happy New Year, friends. As you reflect on the passage of time and maybe even celebrate fresh starts, appreciate the thousands of moments that have brought you to this point in time.