Looking forward to Nostalgia being a thing of the past.

nos·tal·gia

   [no-stal-juh, -jee-uh, nuh-]  Show IPA

–noun

1.

a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a formertime in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one'sfamily and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happinessof a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days.

2.

something that elicits or displays nostalgia.

Origin: 
1770–80;  < Neo-Latin  < Greek nóst ( os ) a return home + -algia -algia

—Related forms

nos·tal·gic, adjective

nos·tal·gi·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged 
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011. 

I caught part of an episode of Clean House the other day, and one moment stood out to me. A young girl was asked to give up her piano, which she infrequently played, to make room for the new room design. When asked why it was important to her, she became teary when she responded that it reminded her of her grandmother, who had passed away. Her response led me to think about why it is that we become attached to physical objects in this world. I’m one of the worst for this… some may refer to it as being a pack rat, I prefer to think that I’m just sentimental. It can be hard to let go of physical objects when we attach such emotional meaning to them.

It can be amusing when we stop to take a look at some of the things we attach to our memories. I keep thinking of an old episode of Full House where Kimmy and DJ were calling their friendship quits and giving back all their keepsakes. I don’t remember all of the keepsakes, but I remember some of them being very strange, such as one of the girls giving back the other’s dental retainer. I’m sure you’ve all either kept something strange as a keepsake or know others that have. People tend to keep things like an article of clothing that was worn at a special occasion long after it can be worn (on that note, still haven’t decided what to do with my wedding dress…), movie tickets, dried flowers, wedding napkins, autographs (just ink on paper, right?)… I know of people keeping their baby’s umbilical cord stump once it’s fallen off, or keeping all of their children’s baby teeth. In all honesty though, what do you DO with all of these things?? I’ve been guilty of keeping some strange stuff myself that, when I went back years later, I wondered, “why did I keep that?”

The point is, we have a tough time moving forward sometimes. Things are always changing. We’re always getting older. Nothing will ever be the same. That’s a phrase that has gone through my head so often lately. Nothing will ever be the same. Our family will never be the same. I will never be the same. When life changes, we change. We can’t go back to how things were, and that can be scary. It’s easy to become nostalgic in such a fast paced, ever-changing world. We were designed to live in paradise with our Heavenly Father. When selfishness (sin) entered the world, the security and stability of paradise were lost on this earth, and we continue to long for it. As time flies past us, we grasp at it and come out with scattered memories and mementos of what’s already behind. We can’t slow it down. This wasn’t how God designed it to be, but mankind used our God-given free will and made it that way.

BUT, Praise God, this world isn’t the end. We were given another chance to enjoy the peace, comfort, and stability of Heaven. I look forward to the day when nostalgia is in the past (ha!). I look forward to not having a longing for what’s past but to be content with current existence. I look forward to not missing loved ones or good times, or not worrying about what I need to do next.

In the mean time, I want to focus on the mementos that keep me Heavenly minded. Isn’t that what cemeteries should be, after all? We look at death as some horrible thing, but for a child of God, it is a release into God’s very presence. We long for the ones who have gone on, and it’s so easy to want to go back to the times we had with them because that’s what we know. It’s hard to imagine what we’ve not yet experienced, but the more I learn about Heaven, the more I desire to go forward.

Over the weekend, I went to Carys’ grave. I listened to the audio clips on my phone of the sweet little noises she made after she was born. I wanted to tell her again how much we love her and miss her here. I wanted to apologize that I didn’t have anything there for her, and when I went back to take some flowers for her grave, I wanted to apologize I didn’t have something better, since I’d used what I had on hand. I wanted to talk to her… but I kept thinking, “she’s not really here.” Monday, I went to get flowers to make a more personalized arrangement for Carys’ grave. I know she’s not really there, but I need the reminder. I need to focus on the glimpse of Heaven we were blessed to see while we had Carys in our arms. After all, that’s what it’s really all about! So, as soon as I can, I'll take the new flowers to her grave to say, "I remember, and I'm looking forward." See you soon, baby girl... i love you!

So, what strange mementos or keepsakes have you all found yourself keeping? J 

(Some people have told me they’ve had difficulty posting comments here. If you have trouble, please let me know at kitchen.ak@gmail.com... thanks!)