Store Your Happy Memories Here:

[Croix]

Dear All~

What this place is for:
This thread is a tool, a resource, and also I guess a dash of entertainment.

I’ve found that when life is grim that sometimes thoughts of past happiness can create a chink of light in the grey overwhelming press of down. They can help occupy the mind with lighter reflections.

With that in view I invite people to set down a brief passage describing some happy event they look back to with fondness and peace.

They - and others too - can then return to it when they feel the need to glean a little warmth.

It is not a place for gloomy or dire tales, those can go elsewhere.

What to do:
Just set out, as simply as you like, your recollection of some past experience that means something good to you, something you enjoyed, something from safe times.

It can be, like my story below, anything – from an account of visiting grandparents to simply cooking and eating a melted-cheese sandwich in a favorite kitchen – you get to choose.

How to do it:
Write. Write enough so someone else can feel the mood, know what happened, find the goodness. (stop at 2,500 characters please!)

Grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation are not compulsory, just write as you can – the only important thing is the content - not literary merit. Short or long - it does not matter.


I hope you enjoy, contribute and find a little distraction here when you need it.

Croix

[Croix]

Dear Nat~

Thank you for that, having life fit to your needs, pretty good, the happiness is infectious.

I'll try a couple of snapshots:

I'm waiting at the airport at night, standing in the arrivals area trying to look out the windows. With the bright lights inside and the dark outside they act like mirrors, can't see a thing. Planes are landing of course, but I don't know which is the right one. I keep looking, shading the glass with my hand and pressing my face up close. A gentle touch at my elbow. I turn around and there is my wife, who arrived undetected. Smiles and a kiss.

Again at night, on a rocky beach with sandy patches and lots of seaweed. I wade out and light the Tilley lamp, place it on its float and stand back. A myriad pairs of red stars bob and weave in the water like a galaxy with the lamp the center sun. Prawns.

I'm driving along in the daytime on a busy road. I see an male echidna trundle off the side of the road towards the other side. Looking for a lady friend I guess. I'm worried about his being hit by a car so I stop, put on the hazard lights and get out. No gloves (no forethought like Nat:[ and pick him up by his toe, steady him with my hand - yes it gets prickled just as I knew it would - and take him over, standing in the center of the road and waiting for a gap. On the far side I let him go. He immediately digs straight down, anchors and stops. Safe.

Croix

[The_Abyss]

A long way from home. Pain and loneliness. I make myself flick through my collection of photos on my phone.

Snatches of time, hints of memories. Laughing faces, shared love, the birth of a child, a kiss, a hug, blissful sleep. A magnificent sunrise, a game of chase on the beach, the bond between an old dog and a new life, family, friends, loved ones. Pride, awe, joy, sadness, concentration, achievement. A game with a hose, a performance, an evening out, concert under the stars, a moonlit walk. Playing in mud, playing in cake batter, playing with life's simplicity. Families joined, adventures sought.

I began with not a single happy thought to mind, and finished with a genuine smile tugging at my lips.

Thank you for the simple reminder.

[Guest_3712]

Hey Abyss,

So good to see you here. Think of you often and hope you are doing OK.

Its been a real trip down memory lane tonight, with some old friends dropping by.

Lots of warm comforting thoughts coming to you and so glad your photo memories made you smile

Seeing you and Fi here tonight has made me smile

Be kind to yourself

Stressless

[Croix]

Dear TA -with a wave to Stressless~

It's lovely to see you back here. I'm afraid I've not been to your thread for a while now, I'll have to go have a look see.

Also I'm pretty pleased about Nat's idea of simple snapshots of happy times, rather than full accounts. It really does work, it's quite a bit easier. And as you are finding, they do have a bigger life of their own than anticipated

Thanks

Croix

[blondguy]

Just another happy memory

Dad paid $26-00 for a family pass to Disneyland in 1969 for a family of six including rides

My Kindest

Paul

[Croix]

Dear Paul~

Thank you for sharing. I would think that would be a very big sum nowadays. I don't know your dad's circumstances of course but imagine it would be quite a sacrifice to do that, a measure of his love.

I hope you all had a realy great time.

Croix

[Quercus]

Hi Croix and Paul and everyone reading 😊

Paul your story reminded me of one with my kids yesterday (Miss 2 loves Minnie Mouse)...

Bedtime routine. Sitting on the bed with two little kids reading books. Mr 4 asks for a once upon a time. I ask him for a song. He sings about a fox in a box wearing socks and a scardey bear in there.

Miss 2 talks over him. He sings louder. Miss 2 stands up and with two hands turns my face to her. I am talking now Mummy. My little bossy boots. They start squabbling as usual. I lie on the floor and tell them to join me. They stop and stare and rush over. Something new!

We lie flat and stretch out our arms. I tell them we are trees and these are our branches. We wave them about in a storm. We wiggle our fingers. The leaves are blown by the wind. Mr 4 loves this.

Miss 2 looks at me and says no Mummy we are not trees. I laugh and say you're right. Now we're sausages in a pan sizzling. They giggle and we wiggle. Then we curl into a ball and pretend to be snails.

And finally I turn on the music. Meditation song. I turn out the light and we lie in the dark. Miss 2 closes her eyes. Mr 4 cuddles his fox toy and listens. For the first time today I feel my mind stop. Two little hands in mine and peace and quiet.

[Croix]

Dear Nat~

To read of such patience, love and insight interacting and steering your kids is a memory in itself.

Amazing

Croix

[Quercus]

Thanks Croix,

Every now and then angry Mummy seems to calm the farm and I get a break from being a screeching banshee.

I like these moments when I realise I'm not always a crap parent 😊

We did painting today. I deserve a bloody winning lotto ticket for that. Even the dog has paint. Fingers crossed hubby has the day off tomorrow.

Any snap shot memories today Croix? I have a prompt word for you.... Scratch.

[Croix]

Dear Nat and All~

Scratch - um, OK.

I'm a kid, I'm climbing down a rusty ladder set into the side of a stubby stone pier on the shore in North Wales. I want to get down to water level to catch a crab. I'm armed with a blob of crab bait on the end of a string. The ladder is as old as old and the rust flakes away in my hand.

Eventually of course I lose my grip and fall in.

I wade out of the water - crabless - and make my way up the beach. When I got back to Nain and Tide's they pointed out I'd scratched my legs, never felt a thing. Then they made a fuss and used iodine and cotton wool - which I did feel.

There is great security in that memory

Croix