Life is too short. Way…too short. Way to short to give any more of it to remembering things that weren’t worth the time they took when they happened in the first place.

Life is full of things you’d rather hadn’t happened.  Arguments, offenses, painful circumstances, failures, etc., etc., etc.  Leave them where they belong; in the fading distance behind you.  Learn what you can from them, then move onward.

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I took took my family on a short road trip to the Eastern Sierras recently. Which by the way, is thoroughly spectacular. Especially since the first snow of fall came the day we set out. The spectacularity (yes, I made that word up and yes, you can borrow it) of the 395 corridor through Mono and Inyo counties cannot be overstated.

But while we were headed out, we drove past the Hope Valley turnoff on highway 88, which reminded me of a precious memory. It was about four years ago and my wife and I were on an anniversary getaway. We took Sam since he was hard to find several days worth of care for, and really, because we wanted to. We liked taking him with us. While we were out driving, we took the road toward Hope Valley for a few miles when we spotted a little creek paralleling the road. We found a place to pull off, parked, and walked a short distance down to the creek. There, under the shade of a large tree, was a grassy little spot right on the edge of this babbling little brook.

We spead out a blanket, laid Sam on it, and had a picnic.  Sammy fell asleep and we just sat there and talked in the shade of that tree with the gentle sounds of the creek flowing over the rocks while he napped. What a memory.

It takes time out of your life to remember things.  Time, of which you only have so much.  If you’re going to spend a portion of the days you have left on this earth recalling things from the past, it should be times like this hour we spent by this mountain stream with a precious child who would only be with us for another couple of years.

Dont give your few remaining hours to reliving events that bring sorrow or pain. Memorialize the precious few moments you have with the precious few people that mean the most to you.  They will strengthen you later.

And make you smile.