Tonight, I was reminded of being a little girl.

I like those times… when something, or someone, spawns a memory.  Especially a fond memory.

In this case, the recollection I had was of my Aunt Mary, and my Cousin Timmy, and being up at Indian Lake.  You see, tonight we had dinner with some friends who live at Lake Lakengren.  After a marvelous meal, we took a boat ride out on the lake.  We had a pretty fabulous time.

But it was that Pontoon Boat ride, along those shores of the lake, that reminded me of that cherished childhood memory.  So long ago.  So very far gone from the physicality of it.

My Aunt Mary died when I was about 9 or 10.  Her son, Tim, was a year younger than I.  That part was profoundly sad.

But prior to her death, there were a lot of good early memories… of playing at the lake house, and on those rickety old roads of Russell’s Point, Ohio.   Great visions of being out on the lake and one of my uncles, or cousins, letting me steer the boat.  Ah, the need for speed…. at such a young age.

The sound of the water lapping on the docks… or the quiet of those same waves, finding their way to the boat… when the motor was cut off, and we would just drift along in the lake.

The sights, and the sounds, and the smells… all came rushing back to me…. as I sat there tonight… in my 51-year-old-body….. with my mind dancing back to 45 years ago.  Back….. back…. to when I didn’t know what was in hotdogs… and I loved it that way, because they tasted SO good when we got back to the lake house.  Those roasted hotdogs, with a fistful of Lay’s Potato Chips.

And the feeling in my heart right now, which is very dual in its awareness… in its emotions.  Feeling both love, and loss, at the same time…. for THAT time… so very long ago.

It is a popular belief right now… that “living in the moment” and “mindfulness in the moment” is important.  And I agree.  But there are also frequent references to “living in the present, because the past is gone, and the future is not ours.”…. and such.

But I wonder.  I know for me, the past is still very much a part of my life.  It is where all the lessons I have learned were born.  And and all the experiences…. which have led to this one… where made in the past.  And the memories of that history are very real… not gone forever.  As for the future… there are certainly no guarantees.  But that is where our hopes, and our dreams are residing… in waiting.

Today truly is all we have… this very moment.  But contained in that moment is the continuum of the infinity of time.