memories past & future

Last Spring Break, we traveled to Houston, to reconnect with our family on my mom's side. It had been years, like 15 or so, since I had last been to Houston, and a little longer for Carl. Many of those relatives had not met Ron nor Raine. We had a great time, and it was important as well, because one of my cousins was fighting a battle with cancer that he has since lost.

This past weekend, his brother Mark flew into El Paso, to go to Ruidoso, so that he could drive their mom to Houston for the memorial service. He then drove her back to Ruidoso, and was facing another shuttle ride from there to the airport, and a flight back to Houston. Yesterday evening, Raine and I packed a bag, drove up to Ruidoso, spent the night and then brought Mark to Las Cruces for a brief stop, lunch at Carrillos, and then we drove him to the airport.

While we were in Ruidoso, Mark pulled out the photo albums and showed Raine some pictures from when we were kids. Back then, his family and mine would meet for camping vacations, and they would often make a special effort to spend time with our family when we took our annual trip to the Houston area, and down to the bay. Mark and his brother Steve would play with my brothers and I, and those are some great memories.

Spending time with Mark today, I was also reminded of his father, whom I remember fondly from those childhood days, and later when I would make an occasional trip to Ruidoso to visit he and my aunt, or they would arrange to meet us at White Sands when the cousins came for a visit.

My hope is that if each of us is willing to put forth a little time and effort, we can find those moments that will create more memories for us, for our families and for our children. I am reminded that some people are treasures, but you don't want to keep their memories in a book, or a box. You want to interact with them, because you feel in some way they are going to continue to contribute to your life in many memorable ways.