Drive down memory lane

Last Saturday evening my wife and I took a drive down memory lane to a neighborhood in a nearby city where we lived 24 years ago.  

We drove past the home where we lived when we, and our children, were ever so young.  Twenty-four years is so long ago but my memories of this time are eternally youthful. 

The neighborhood landscaping has matured so nicely from when we lived there when this neighborhood was also so young.  All the homes I remember from long ago are still here but I’m sure most have new owners.

Our visit had as its purpose to pass time before attending a theatre play.  We had plenty of time to pass and this gave us an opportunity to slowly drive through our old neighborhood immersing ourselves in many pleasant memories.  Eventually, many deeply-embedded memories began to surface.

These memories included my daughter sitting on the front porch of our home, my son walking home from elementary school with his friends, and neighbors going to and from their homes.  At times, they seemed so surreal.    

Meandering in our car ever so slowly, like senior citizens driving to a bank to deposit a Social Security check, we listened to a Gene Autry Christmas song – Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer - playing on the radio.  We used to listen to this song over and over during Christmas season when driving in the neighborhood with little daughter and son in our car so long, long ago.

Well little daughter and son ever so close to mom and dad then are now big adult daughter and son living far away from us and these memories.  They’re busy creating their own memories and are now both older than my wife and I when we first moved to our old neighborhood.    

These wonderful yesteryear memories will always be mine to cherish and, as time goes by, will continue bringing me much reflective joy every time my wife and I chose to take an old neighborhood drive down memory lane.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum