Sifting through the memories, a fine mist rises, a cloud of white, a poof of something yet to be.
Like a baker, waiting for the bread to rise, I must be patient.
What is it to knead these thoughts into a slice of life, morsels of words on a page?
I know only this; it can get messy in the kitchen of life, flour spilt upon the floor, dishes piled up in the sink.
The aroma of bread baking in the oven is so delightful; it awakens the soul to the sweetness of life.
It is only words, fingerprints left on the countertop of life; the countertop is full of many things, some gather dust, some sit dormant, waiting.
But somewhere, in the sifting of all those memories, a fine mist rises, a remembrance of what could be, hope for a new day.
The dishes languish in the sink, piled up for all to see; just outside the kitchen window, a little bird sings.
I so love the morning mist, the rising of a new day, bursting into being within my heart.
Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
In these recent months, I have spent much time helping my eighty-seven year old mother sort through her things. She is preparing to sell her house. I have not done this alone…a great many family members have been assisting in this project. It is strange some of the things we save throughout the years…remembrances of many things. It is hard to know what to keep and what to let go of. In the end, things were divided between items my mother still wants, items family members wanted, and many items that were donated.
Helping my mother through this process was an eye-opening experience. It helped me think about what I myself have saved, and what items I no longer need. I have always donated items we did not need as a family… But, somehow, looking at the contents of an entire house all at once makes you think twice about what to keep.
Sifting through memories is an emotional experience. If we are wise, we cherish the blessings that have come our way, and we prepare our hearts for a new day…
The best treasures are the ones that live within our hearts. The best ‘keepsake’ is living fully in the moment at hand…that way, there will be happy memories to look back on.
There is a sense of freedom in ‘letting go’ of things that clutter our lives and our homes. Making room for what makes us happy is so very important…
Celebrating the moments of life as they come, and celebrating the people we love, seems to rise to the top of our lists for time well-spent. Perhaps, that is why we cling to photographs, and personal diaries left behind by our beloveds.
Early morning has always been a good time for me to reflect on a great many things…a quiet time before the sun is up to pray and plan the day. Of course, things do not always go according to our plans…there are always surprises! Still, time for reflection can change the course of a day…we begin with a mindset of thanksgiving.
This mindset seems to be the most important thing we bring to each day…whatever we happen to be doing. Sometime later, we will find ourselves sorting through ‘boxes of memories’. It is our mindset that will have shaped those memories for better or worse.
The sun rises each morning and the slate is clear for all brand-new things, no matter what else we have been carrying around in our storage containers of the past. There is nothing wrong with looking back, and hopefully, there is a lot of joy to be found there…
But, it is a new day, a one of a kind day that God has created. It is full of promise. We rise to a ‘mist’ of new possibilities, new dreams of what could be.
It is good to sort our memories now and then. It is good to thank God for all the wonderful people and things that He has given us on this earth.
But, above all, we must remember that each day is a gift unto itself. It will not come again. Tomorrow will be a different day, and yesterday has already passed. Each day is a one of a kind gift that God delivers to our door…wrapped in ribbons of love for us to untie and enjoy. We don’t have to wait to open it…the gift is for right this very moment, right now!
So beautiful. The pictures are outstanding! Thank you
The pictures are mostly from our mountain trips…always hard to leave these lovely places!
Beautiful and well-timed. I’m still sorting through three generations of precious papers, deciding what to keep, what to share as a story on my website, what needs to be shared on cousin Facebook pages, what to let go. My kitchen counter is cluttered today with one stack of those!
It really is a labor of love!!! You have to go through everything or you might miss something important. You do an outstanding job at ‘sifting through the memories’. In fact, you are an inspiration in that regard! Keep sharing the stories…and the photographs! 🙂
I need to do that sorting, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it.
What a wonderful time to join your mother in reflecting over wonderful memories. To have lived and experienced the joys of family and friends, of moving through many transitions togethers, of celebration and grieving.
My mother’s health has deteriorated in these recent months. I am glad we started the process of sorting the memories as soon as we did. The summer months were full of ‘sorting’. I think it was a very good thing. I loved seeing how the pieces of the family puzzle all fit together…pieces from long ago to the present. As we age, the picture looks different in many respects, but there are many celebratory moments that mark the passage. Every age has its gifts…we must celebrate all of it as best we can, and in as many ways as we can.
I agree wholeheartedly – every age has its gifts. I’m celebrating with you.
There is much to celebrate!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I know you are a bright spirit and you intuitively understand that none of our days are ‘ordinary’. Thank you for sharing so many extraordinary moments with us day by day.
great wisdom here Linda, packing up the family home is such a huge task … one I had to do during lockdown so no relatives could help, brothers were locked out overseas and sister had taken what she wanted. Does make us introspective about our own hoarding and what we really need. Mist arising is a lovely metaphor …
I helped my mother downsize twice. The first time wasn’t bad; she and my dad had kept way too much stuff. The second time was easy for her, hard for me.
I bet it was Liz, my Mum was ready to go so no regrets that way.
Being present in the moment and open to that ‘morning mist’ is such a wondrous thing. Each day holds promise for us, each day is an altogether new reality. We can get ‘stuck’ if we tell ourselves that nothing can change, or that our circumstances are not ‘enough’. Sometimes, I look up at the sky and I watch the hawks…how they glide, how they circle, how they fly. They are very beautiful; they remind us of the open sky, a world without closed windows. We must train ourselves to open the windows, and trust our hearts to see that endless wide-open space before us.
so poetically said Linda … in India I used to watch the eagles, here it’s the osprey …
any big bird in flight
drifting like a kite
opens our heart despite
narrowness is too tight!
Wonderful lines to contemplate there…such a sense of freedom. We need these reminders, to pause and contemplate the wonder of life.
Each day a gift-good to be reminded of that from time to time.
God has blessed us with so much. Life is not perfect, but there are perfect moments of grace. We see that God is always working on our behalf, and He wants us to enjoy each sunrise and sunset. God has imbued the world with so much beauty, so many tell-tale signs of His love. The more we embrace the wonder, the deeper we feel His being present with us all times…both the good times, and the difficult times.
Another beautifully written reflection with such an important message!
Thank you Liz! It has been bitter-sweet as my mother remembers the past so well. Often, we lose her now in the moment to moment…that is where she forgets so much. It does make us aware that we must appreciate life every hour of every day.
You’re welcome, Linda! It was the opposite with my mother. She didn’t remember the past as well as the present. You are so right that we must appreciate life every hour of every day.
I am blessed with memories. The folks are gone and most of their generation. It’s easy to pendulum time between memories and tomorrows and miss the moments…What a well written reminder. Love the morning mists Linda.
Yes, Gary, the ‘morning mist’ is new each morning and will be throughout all eternity. We are so blessed with our memories…Lots of space in our hearts to keep building new memories. I laugh so much at some of the stuff the grandchildren do! They remind me of what is important, to appreciate the hour at hand.
Amazing visuals AND I can smell the bread baking!
It is that time of year for baking! 🙂 We have had a beautiful fall in Virginia…the nights have been cooler, but lovely autumnal days!
Your writing is so lyrical that it is really poetry. My mom just went back to Michigan. She turns 87 next month. She thinks she has a lot to go through and it weighs on her, but she is a thrower-outer, so really compared with so many she doesn’t have that much.
Thank you Luanne! 🙂 My mother will be 88 in April, but her health has declined in recent months. All these cares do weigh on a person. Your mother is blessed in that she is continuously ‘sifting’. That way, it is not one big job all at once. I think when we ‘sift’, we discover that some of the things we once wanted no longer serve our current situation. Also, there may be others who could use those exact items we no longer have a use for.
Well put, Linda!
when my mother moved to her retirement community two years ago, we had to help her downsize a lifetime worth of possessions into what would fit into a small apartment. Honestly, I have never looked at my own stuff quite the same way since!
You are so right, Ann! Going through so much stuff really gets you thinking. My mother was very sentimental and saved almost everything! The truth is, there is only so much room to store things. In the end, it is is better to keep some sentimental things that really mean a lot to you. Then, there is a lot you have to let go…I think that way you make room for what is important.
I learnt so much from your experience, Ann. I rounded up my kids and we attacked our home after reading your posts! Sure did make a difference.
You inspired me also, Ann. You were very industrious as you helped your mother downsize. In fact, I often think of you as we go through these proceedings!
Morning mist is one of my favourite things to see. The air just feels different and I love getting up early enough to see the mist over hills!
It is a beautiful thing…it catches our attention, and we focus on the wonder of a new day. 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed your reflections Linda! Your opening metaphor of bread and writing brought to mind a children’s book read to my class by Miss Herr the Librarian of our Mennonite school titled “Bembelman’s Bakery.” In the story, the children were left to attend the rising bread and they kept adding handfuls of flour making a loaf that overflowed the home. When the distraught parents took a bite of the mammoth loaf, they found it to be the best bread they had ever tasted and sold it to the community making enough money to sail for America. I could almost see words upon words rising up and spilling out of your kitchen window. Slowly my parents (in their early 80’s) are beginning the sorting process. My father and I have a date this winter to tackle his side of their basement. I look forward to hearing the stories, the keepsakes, he will tell as he uncovers things that haven’t seen the light of day in many years.
Thank you for your wonderful comment…it gave me a sense of profound hope. It has been hard at times, and yet also incredibly beautiful. It is a sort of wonderment to see your parents ‘young again’ through photos and keepsakes. I found the most amazing picture of my mother holding me in her arms when I was maybe a year old. I had never seen the photo before. She had this look of such pure love and contentment on her face…If it were not for all this ‘sifting’, I would have missed this photo.
I think this sorting and and giving away is something everyone should do maybe even twice a year so that if something happens to us, others have less to contend with. The trouble is many of us are sentimental beings at heart (I now I am!). So much of what we own have precious memories and stories attached to them, making it tough to part with stuff. Giving away things is like giving away our stories and part of ourselves.
What we often forget is that our kids or those who live with us have a right to their memories as well from the things they themselves own. They’ll likely not need most of ours on top of everything they already have. By giving some things away, it could be a form of saying, I love you to our kids.
You are so right about routine ‘cleansing’ of our possessions. I have always been one to keep all kinds of cards and letters. (I keep them in pretty boxes and stack them nicely.:) ) Lately, I have taken the effort to part with some of them. I do get ‘paper clutter’…not valuable in a monetary sense, but valuable to me.) I am getting better at this…it is a work in progress! I do this with books also. I tell myself that I must get rid of so many books before I can buy another. 🙂
I love your metaphor of baking, Linda. Life is messy indeed, but like a fresh loaf of bread it’s worth the effort. Cleaning out a home for a move to a smaller place is a challenge. I went through this with my parents and it was a long process because each item held so many memories that needed to be shared. They are so much more than “things.” A lovely post, my friend.
Change can be hard, especially for older people. Somehow, though, so much can be learned as we move from one season of life to the next. I think we discover what is really the most important. Thank you for sharing the process you went through with your parents…indeed, many items are more than mere ‘things’. That world of memories has many touchstones.
We’re going through photo albums now. My parents have 80 of them! Every single photo has a story.
You are right…every photo has a story! My mother has a great many books as well. I have not counted them…:)
Lovely photos–the morning mist can be so beautiful. Good luck with helping your mother move. My mom moved so many times in her life, but those final moves when we helped her were so difficult, even though she no longer had a house.
My mother has not lived in her own house for over a year. She lives part of the time with my sister, and part of the time with me. The house is pretty well cleared out, but I think the last leg of the journey is almost the hardest. (We all kind of became overwhelmed at one point.) It has helped so much to hear about how other people navigated this terrain. I have gotten a lot of helpful hints…and I do appreciate them! 🙂
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I love the morning mist…it can be magical!
Yes! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi, Linda, this post is absolutely beautiful. My mother is getting on in age, as well, but addressing the subject of going through her things would meet with stonewalling. I love the way you weave the ideas of the mist, memories, and baking bread. You have a great talent for writing. And your readers’ comments are so kind and supportive. What a great site you’ve nurtured! 🌞
Thank you so much Lisa! I am so happy to have found you in the blogging world! I hope you had a good Thanksgiving…I will need to out walking my dog on these brisk days. I did eat my fair share of stuffing and pie. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I know what you mean, I made my annual (yes, annual!) pumpkin pie and it called to me each night until it was gone! It’s a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to reading more of your posts. 🌞
🙂 🙂 🙂