On my wife's phone is a picture of me with our two granddaughters, Kyleigh and Tallulah, both of whom hover around two years of age. As you can imagine they are Opa's ("grandpa" in German) delight and as any proud grandparent will tell you, the most beautiful and intelligent children God put on the face of this earth.
The photo shows the three of us sitting on the kitchen floor eating. I got the munchies one afternoon during our family reunion, rustled around until I found something, and was quickly joined by the two waifs who heard the sound of a package being opened. Neither of them has met a food they won't at least give a try and they figured I was a sucker for a pretty face, so we sat down and started snacking.
My father disappeared from my life when I was about five years old and that made things kind of rough for my mom. Make no mistake, I never went hungry, never slept in a dumpster, and always had clean clothes - but there wasn't much left for "extra's" during those first years. But every now and then my mom would shout "Let's have a party" and get out some crackers and cheese and we'd sit down to chat or watch TV and munch away. Curious, is it not, how the simple memories are often the fondest?
I thought of those "parties" with mom as the three of us sat on the floor having our own little party. And I saw my mom smiling in Heaven, watching her son and great-granddaughters continuing the tradition. Charlie had his angels, and Opa has his: Kyleigh, Tallulah, and mom.
Photographs and memories ...
All that I have are these
To remember you ....
But as long as we have those photographs and memories, the person lives on, no matter how long they have been gone. Perhaps memory is one aspect of eternal life.
I don't think I will ever let my wife change that wallpaper on her cell phone ...
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