The Way We Were by Jim Martin/euronitram54@gmail.com

                                                                
  As we go through life, our thoughts keep bringing back old memories of "the way we were". Never fails as a reminder. Of course we remember all the good times and we try to go back  and reconnect with old friends but we find that old saying is true,"you can never go back home again".   We see Bands that try to get together again and recreate that magic touch and chemistry they once had. And we see teams that try to get together again to have that incredible run of success as in earlier years. Most find that the magical ingredients that combined to make that a memorable time frame in our short lives are either gone or just not flying in the same formation. "Things" change--"People" change-Time Changes.
  Families get together for reunions or just special occasions and talk about "the way we were" and realize that everyone has changed and grown up. Priorities have changed--Interest have changed--attitudes have changed--but we still wish ! We sometimes wish just for an hour or a day that time could be reversed back to when we were young or our Children were young--or maybe even our Grandchildren !  We even spend 6 months planning a vacation and once there, our expectations don't meet the excitement level we had built it up to. But when we "remember the way we were", the glorious times will be recorded as a great vacation and we will forget that rain storms kept us off the beach half the time.  I see Parents in the stores with their 2 or 3 year olds and remind them that their child will be 20 before they know it. I  tell them to enjoy every minute with them because that game or recital or some other function will "never" happen the same way again. Their child will be older next time and that event you saw ,or missed, will be in the archives of "The way we were".
   We live in the future "so much" as opposed to the present ,which is why our memory is glazed over after not paying 100% attention. We have our minds wandering/worrying about other parts of our lives while not realizing that at that very second, "nothing else" in the World is on your child's mind other than their Parents watching their every move and smiling at them-----and clapping.  We sometimes live so free and cavalier thinking that we have "plenty" of days, months, years left so it is OK if I let my mind wander during my Daughter's Piano Recital or play.  We have to wake-up and focus on the present and enjoy the "now" minutes/hours/days/months--and "years" ! As opposed to one day talking in groups and saying "the way we were"--it would be better for young people/parents to start saying "THE WAY WE ARE"---and enjoy every moment as if it were our last !! Because I promise you--Life is just a Flicker!!!
by Jim Martin/Memphis TN