Quiet Reminders

 

I love when I get random memories/ quiet reminders of past events. Memories that I have "forgotten" that come up out of nowhere. I can't help but think this is my brother giving me a gentle touch to help remember the quiet times we shared. The ones that were not photographed... the average days. Those average days now mean everything, they are all I have to hold onto. I am so grateful for the randomness in which these “forgotten” memories occur.

I was driving to work and a wonderful memory came to me.  Around Christmas time, Charlie got the game Guess Who. He wanted uncle Manny to play with him and of course he did. After the game, Manny confessed to me he had no idea what he was doing and didn't understand the rules so he basically let Charlie win. He and I sat down at the kitchen table and played it together laughing the whole way through. He got up from the game and thanked me for playing/ explaining the game to him. It was a quiet moment of love and appreciation. One that I didn't think I would value as much as I do. It may seem like such a simple memory but to me it's so deep. It explains our relationship. A loving desire to help my brother understand, a motherly, yet bossy bond.

 Autumn, Manny's girlfriend, expressed the same type of experiences. Where random memories pop into her mind that she has "forgotten". I will forever think this is my brother's gentle "push" to focus on the good times, the everyday simple times... the ones that make us smile.