These Are The ‘Good Old Days,’ Too. (Cuz They WILL Be–Someday)

I'm not sure I can remember a year that has been quite this stressful. I'm fairly confident ten or twenty years from now we will all still remember how strange, stressful, and sometimes heartbreaking 2020 has been.

At the same time, good things happen every day. Perhaps you met the love of your life. Maybe you had a baby. There's a chance the months we spent in quarantine gave you more time to spend with your family--making memories. Good memories, too.

Have you ever been spending time with your family, and someone brings out the old family photos? At our house, while looking at pictures of Great Grandpa, inevitably a reference will be made to the “good old days.” You know, back when beloved relatives who have passed were still with us and life seemed simpler?

I propose this: As we go into this autumn season and then into the holidays, when we're gathered around enjoying some old family recipe we've made for years, it's quite likely we will chat about the “good old days” yet again. We will miss Dad, who passed nine years ago--as well as grandparents and other loved ones who are no longer with us. Stories of eccentric uncles and old family jokes will be shared. It'll likely be a warm, happy time—the reminiscing.

The other day, I had a bit of an epiphany. Someday, we and/or other family members and friends, will remember these times as “the good old days.“ Time will pass and perspectives will shift. What we now experience as the regular ol' present will fade into a golden memory to which we hearken back.

Remember, as hard as this year has been, every day is still precious when we're spending time with those we love. As we reminisce, why don't we focus on being here now, too? When we spend time preparing recipes from our family kitchens from years ago, I hope we remember that these, too, are the “good old days.”

Or they will be.