Sharing Memories That Are Worth Sharing
Last Sunday Ray and I enjoyed a lunch out with one of our daughters and her family. While we waited for our orders, I looked around the room and noticed that I didn’t know any of the other customers. I know that doesn’t sound strange for those of you who live in large cities, but it was noteworthy in our small town.
Soon one of the other patrons came to our table and proved me wrong. We were delighted to visit with Meredith, the granddaughter of our dear friend Joy Brown who lived to be 100 and whom I have written about several times, including this post which I wrote soon after she passed away.
This is Miss Joy when she was about 90 years old.
She was portraying her ancestor Polly Williams, a colorful character from local history who once operated a hotel on the Gainesboro, Tennessee, town square. If you would like to read more about Miss Joy, here are some links to other past articles about this godly woman.
I had not noticed Meredith when I scanned the room. After all, she lives in Texas and I had not seen her in a long time. She and her two sons were passing through on their way to visit relatives in North Carolina and had stopped in Gainesboro long enough to eat at the Bull and Thistle and drive by her grandmother’s house.
We all enjoyed sharing memories of Miss Joy. Miss Joy lived for a few months after celebrating her 100th birthday. Mary Evelyn said that when the number 100 comes up in their family conversations, they often say “100 plus.” During the few months that Miss Joy enjoyed being 100 years old, when someone mentioned that she was 100, she would correct them and say, “100 plus!”
I told about the last game of Scrabble® that Meredith’s father played with his mother. That game also occurred after Miss Joy’s 100th birthday. Playing a game of Scrabble® was a common activity when Mike came to visit his mom from Texas. On the occasion of that last game, he and Miss Joy drew their seven tiles and Miss Joy began her first turn. When she sat staring at her tiles for a long time, Mike thought sadly, “This is it. Our games of Scrabble® are over. Mom can’t do it anymore.” Then to his surprise, his mother placed a word on the board, a word that used all seven of her tiles.
Meredith sat at our table, sharing memories and stories with us until her sons were finished eating and her lunch must have been cold. We all enjoyed ourselves so much. There are many lessons we can learn from what happened on Sunday. Here are a few:
- Live life with joy so that others remember you with joy.
- Spend time with others so that you have memories to share.
- Share those memories.
- Cherish people who are older than you.
You younger men, likewise,
be subject to your elders;
and all of you, clothe yourselves
with humility toward one another,
for God is opposed to the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5