‘Up the Path’

Family is an ever-changing ideology; new lives begin as others draw to a close. Generations pass and with them goes memories, snapshots that play out almost like a movie in our minds. But what if we don’t want to accept that one day these memories will be no longer, what if we cannot accept that the times that once sparked us with such joy will be someday left in the distant past. How does one come to accept that one day the movie will come to an end, the curtains will close, and the scenes will become blurred? My Nan Marie is eighty-one years of age and has been an extremely prominent figure within my life. Her morals, beliefs and teachings are ingrained in me and the way in which I live my life, and the memories we hold together are extremely unique. One day, generations will shift and the realities of wandering up the path to visit her will only be in the precious past. Small moments, trinkets, or smiles which to an outsider may seem inconsequential, can be a defining factor of a family’s connection, of the memories they have crafted over their lives. Memories are personal and intricate. Their comforting presence counters the inevitability that one day a person will no longer be there, that one day the images in our minds will be all that remains.