Flashback Fridays 2009-11

Several weeks ago we had the opportunity to visit the town Bill grew up in, Acton. It was really fun for me to have a visual of his home, schools, church, friend's houses, and other little tidbits of his life. I don't think our kids were too excited about it all, they just wanted to hurry to the zoo, but they did enjoy a visit to Kimball's for ice cream. Bill had fun recalling this memory or that adventure. I think Bill was a bit of a trouble maker which would certainly explain why he spent many of his high school days grounded, a smart move on his parents' part.
Going back to the place you grew up, especially if you haven't been there for a long time, can be surreal. Things aren't always as you remember them. It's funny to see how things can change in a couple of decades. Businesses close, and new ones take their place. Trees grow. Roads are built. New subdivisions emerge. Paint fades, crakes, and peels. Schools seem small or maybe even larger as the campus has grown or has been remodeled to accommodate a new generation of students.
Overlapping the old town of your memory and the new town as it exists today can be disorienting, strange, nostalgic, and familiar all at the same time. In the end you realize that more than the town has changed, but you yourself have changed. It's one of life's little gifts to see things as they were and as they are now. Life is all about the journey. Your life experiences have brought you to the place you are now, and will forever move you to your future. It's good to reflect on how you came to this precise moment in time, and to remember the people, places, and experiences that accompanied you on that path.
Bill's home for most of his childhood. He left for college at BYU from this home, and then later to serve a two year mission to Rio for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (BTW, Rio was just selected to host the summer 2016 Olympics. We will be starting a savings account specifically dedicated to attending this event!!! Let the countdown begin!)

Elementary School

High School

Littleton Ward Chapel

This is a memorial plate affixed to the flagpole at the chapel above. This was an emotional part of the visit for Bill as he let his memories return him to that moment in time when this small token of a friend's life was dedicated one Sunday many years ago. This moment is not mine to share, so I won't. I will only say that after many happy years of marriage to my Bill, I found myself emotionally moved as he talked of Kurt. My thoughts and emotions were not for Kurt because I never knew him, but rather for Bill. It was a reflective moment for me on how two lives can be so intertwined and connected, as it is and should be in marriage, that when one experiences an emotion of great magnitude then so does the other. It's a memory I hope never to lose.

Today this memorial plate is old, weather-beaten, and held on by one lonely screw, but the memory of a life lost seems to be vivid in the minds and hearts of those who knew and loved Kurt.

Kimball's, the hot spot for ice cream and more.

Last but certainly not least, one completely adorable two year old enjoying his first taste of Kimball's sweetness!!!