Do you remember where you were when....

  Anybody over the age of 30 remembers where they were on September 11th, 2001. Everybody over the age of 60 probably can tell you exactly where they were on November 22nd, 1963 when President Kennedy was shot or the day Mr. Armstrong walked on the moon. Certain events are so remarkable that you can't help but remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when they occurred. But how about the memories you have that are much more personal to you, that mean so much to you over the course of your life that you will never forget when they happened? Did you know then the impact it was going to have or the long term benefits you would enjoy for years to come.Or did what happened seem like nothing at the time but would turn out to be a part of your life for years I suspect the answer is no.
  For me some of those memories remain as clear as the day they took place and others are clouded over time (and with music,other factors). My first live baseball game was at the old Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis to watch the Twins play the Red Sox. I was probably 6 or 7 and from that point forward I fell in love with baseball and enjoy everything about it to this day 40 plus years later. Did I know then how much becoming a sports fan would mean to me. Of course not, I was much more concerned with getting hot dogs and popcorn than I was categorizing the significance of the event. On my 16th birthday I sat with my Dad and watched Reggie Jackson hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches from three different pitchers. It was a performance that probably will never happen again but I remember it best because it was my birthday and I was watching it with my Dad. A lifetime memory that just happened without any marking of the occasion. I didn't wake up the next morning and think to myself "I'll never forget that."
  The first time I met lifelong friends Steve Kneebone, Steve Harma, Joel Ciucci, Louie DePuydt and many others still remains fresh in my brain even though at the time a never gave it a second thought. I can't imagine how much less fun my life would have been without them. The point of the blog is that many of the things that turn out to be huge parts of our lives going forward are happening right now. But like most people I wonder if I am appreciating the things coming in to my life to the degree I should or are they just drifting by unnoticed; taken for granted as just another day. Are we aware enough to know how special people and events are in real time? Speaking for myself I fear I am not that introspective.
  Memories cannot be manufactured anymore than emotions can. But memories also can't happen without emotion being attached to them. My wife has tried to create some family memories by taking all the kids to various festivals and the like. The failures have been so epic that they did create the desired effect. The trip to Ellijay, Georgia to listen to bands play at a Friday night town square block party is legendary in our family. The event ended the week before so the only thing in the parking lot was an ATM machine that all the kids gleefully posed in front of for a picture to commemorate the event. To this day just the mention of an ATM sends them into tales regaling the empty parking lot. A memory was created that will last a lifetime, even if it wasn't the way it was planned. Pasty festivals, apple festivals and more have all crashed and burned. The kids will actually run and hide when she picks up a newspaper advertising the festivals for the upcoming months. But she has done exactly what she wanted, to create family memories.
  Maybe during our busy day we should take the time to just stop for a moment and realize how the little things that are happening aren't so little. I'm trying to enjoy the people, events and chores that occur during the day more, treating the seemingly mundane as exciting. When I look back twenty years from now I want to be able to say that I knew it right away and didn't take it for granted. Of course twenty years from now I probably won't remember who I am but at least I'll remember something.

Till next......