31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 26: Memories

As I am writing this, I am looking at the sweetest picture of my grandparents at their 60th anniversary party. For those of you who might not know, I call my grandmother Bubbie and my grandfather Jeddie.

Bubbie and Jeddie, celebrating 60 years of marriage

Bubbie passed away in the summer of 2011 about 6 months after she was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. Jeddie is still with us, though in the year since Bubbie has been gone he seems to have begun to reveal his true age.

Looking at this beloved picture, I do not feel sadness. Yes, I miss Bubbie: she was my best friend. She used to tell me what we were best friends from Day 1, which is true. I am the oldest of their grandchildren, and was first born (albeit by a month and a half), so that pretty much put me at the top of the pecking order. What I do feel is a yearning for days gone by. I laughed out loud thinking of some of the funny things Bubbie and I used to do, and the stories Jeddie told us as children.

Memory is a funny thing. Physiologically speaking, it is commonly believed that the memory "lives" in the Hippocampus, deep inside the brain. Some new theories say that memories are coded here and then move out to the frontal lobes for the long term, but that's a topic for a different post (again...thank you grad school for my knowledge of the brain!). I think it's remarkable that this little section, deep down inside where it can be most protected, is where our memory "lives". Seems to be nature's way of telling us that our memories are among some of our most precious commodities.

Today, I invite you to take a moment and rejoice in precious memories you hold...they are the intangible treasures that make our lives uniquely savory and special.

What memories have you created today?

"So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good."  -Helen Keller