Dear reader, I finally figured out a puzzle that has been confounding me for ages: namely, how to get from point A to point B in the twinkling of an eye.
Bring a good friend with you.
Over the weekend my friend and I made a quick trip out of town. All by ourselves. We left early one morning and returned late the next night. I mean, on paper that is what happened. But in some ways it feels we distilled 48 hours into one thrill-packed roller coaster ride, over almost as soon as it began. Then again, every moment was filled with such fun that the experience lingers on in my mind as if it is somehow still happening.
We wandered through rooms filled with dusty old doors, old chairs, old toys.
I found my prom dress, the one I would have worn if I would have been asked to prom.
It may be this discovery set me back a little in the healing process, but don't worry: I'm not bitter.
We ate here. Twice.
Coconut sticky rice gelato. Yes. I will go to prom with you.
We drove through some of the loveliest neighborhoods I've ever seen. They were so idyllic it felt as if we were in a dream.
We had bread pudding for breakfast from this magical place.
Bread pudding for breakfast?
No one was the boss of us.
We walked through pretty places and looked at pretty things. We admired, we debated, we ate more gelato. And through it all, we talked. I think we pretty much talked non stop. We talked about ourselves, our children, our families, about life, spiritual matters, social issues. We laughed. We got off on tangents. We forgot the original point of our conversation, suspending relevance in a way that made perfect sense to us.
And when we pulled into my driveway late Saturday night, we were still talking with such urgency we actually sat there awhile longer.
I guess this is the secret to time travel, and perhaps it is something you want to use judiciously in case time vanishes altogether: fill it with people you love.
But how can one be judicious about that? How can one parcel out the heart? I think you just have to go with it. Love as many people as you can, let time roll on as it may.
That is the beauty of memory. Doors, chairs, and toys may grow old and get covered with dust, but in the mind there is a place where moments can be summoned, fresh and new, and where the pleasure of a happy day may live on forever as if time stood still.