Editing


May 1, 2009

Yesterday was our 32nd wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything spectacular. We had a quiet lunch at a local sports bar and went for a ride in the country. Exhausted from carbohydrate overload, we came back home and snuggled down for a nap. We didn't do anything spectacular to mark the occasion, but we did share a lot of smiles and laughter remembering our past together.

32 years is a long time. That's a whole lot of days, hours, minutes and a whole lot of choices made. That's a lot of meals, a lot of work days, a lot of growing and maturing. During that time we raised two boys into men. We made it through driving permits, unstable girlfriends and the teen years. We fought breast cancer and won. We fought other cancers with dearly loved family and friends and lost. We had our moments with each other when each of us wondered separately what the hell we'd gotten ourselves into. We had our angry, fed-up moments, but we had even more tender, heart felt moments.

And that brings me to editing. When we walked down memory lane yesterday, it wasn't the hard times we recalled. It wasn't the hard work of raising a family or the sadness of loosing our loved ones we recalled. Our memories have been edited to nothing but the good times - the laughter shared with friends and family. The joyful times of spontaneous trips through Pennsylvania, the impromptu excursions with the boys, the surprise 25th wedding anniversary party that my husband planned, the joy of Christmases with the boys - those are the moments we recalled. And maybe that's what a fulfilled life is all about - editing. Editing the painful, sad times and moving forward leaves a wealth of happiness behind and something to lean on when times get tough. Good editing leaves life's unnecessary scenes out of the picture and leaves behind the essential elements for viewing. Viewing nothing but the essential picture, our life together has been spectacular!

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