the memories are mine

My toes have been lilac for weeks.
I look down and smile... and recall a vist with a special friend who happened to be on vacation nearby! The polish is starting to chip, but I cannot quite bear to remove it. Afraid that to swipe it away will make the memories slip away with the soft purple.

But once memories are made, they are mine.

To tuck away and to celebrate when wiggle their way to the surface. And reliving a memory is almost sweeter in the remembering. Slipping it into my hand, peeling back the layers of time, and seeing the gift that make my eyes shine.

When we were sitting there in those big comfy chairs, Ruby Red asked say I haven't seen you since before you went to Africa, and I want to hear all about it! The remembering took my breath away. And tears slipped from where they had balanced. Africa will do that to you.

So lilac will go... but I won't forget. I won't forget how we laughed, how Happy Boy rode Bobo and how many times Ruby Red declared my Mom's home amazing (it is... it really is.)  And I won't forget that while there may be miles between me and my dearest memories, they truly live in my heart, oh-so-close at hand.