A measure of time

What is a measure of time? Is it "knee high by the 4Th of July?" Is it trees planted with the promise of shelter later? Is it "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be."?

We measured time with my parent's 50Th wedding anniversary on June 21, 2008. That is a measure of time. It is good to see the love in my parent's faces - reflected back at each other. The look of accomplishment of we did this! the two of us, and it was worth it. It is great to be together still, after all these years, after 50 years and looking ahead to more together.

There is beauty and grace in growth. People look the same, only older, a different shadow of their former selves. They are still recognizable and still who they are. What they were? All is a part of their lives' fabric, woven experiences and stories of heartaches, triumphs, joys, heartfelt love, loss and gains, lives lived, milestones.

There is a comfortable familiarity in seeing someone who reminds you of someone you know and love. There was a comfortable familiarity as I sat across the table from my aunts and uncle and saw part of my mother and part of me sitting there. Sometimes when I laugh, I could swear it sounds just like my aunts' laughter. I have good memories of their laughter at family gatherings, especially when I was younger.

Our lives are woven together, joining one generation to the next. We are all different people and yet so similar. It is good to visit with our relatives and friends, to catch up on our lives, even through the business of our lives. There will always be a connection.

Life is a measure of time.