Brey Willows

Card 47, Writing Down the Bones: Don’t ever forget.

Don’t ever forget the sweet stickiness of honey, and how it makes you smile. Don’t ever forget to pay attention to that first sip of coffee, the burnt bean flavor and the way it makes you sigh with happiness.

Don’t ever forget the way a peanut butter and jelly sandwich makes you feel like a kid again, and how perfect it was to sit on a rock on the beach outside the Cannes film festival, surrounded by boats with helipads, red carpets, and people in suits–and we ate our pb&j sandwiches and laughed and the world was just about perfect.

Don’t ever forget the icy beauty of the waterfalls in Iceland, and how they said they were only about fifty feet away…and it was nearly half a mile.

Don’t ever forget the smell of cinnamon at Christmas and how it makes you think of pine trees and walks in the forest and opening your stocking in bed (with a cup of coffee in one hand).

Don’t ever forget the way that first hug in the morning feels, and how it makes the rest of the day solid and grounded and you know just where you belong in the world.

Don’t ever forget the the nights spent wandering with friends under a starlit sky, and the feeling that you were so small, just a dot in a world made of them, and how strangely reassuring that was.

Don’t ever forget the way she looks at you. Don’t ever forget the way she holds your hand when you’re watching a movie, or the way she kisses the top of your head every time she leaves the office. Don’t forget the way she makes you feel safe, the way she makes you feel like you’re strong enough (even when you really, really don’t think you are). Don’t forget the way her eyes are such a beautiful spring green, a forest ready to bloom at any given moment.

Don’t forget the laughter. Laughter, laughter, laughter. So much of it, with so many people over the years. Don’t forget the laughter in the midst of the tears, either. That moment when you’re a wrung out sponge but you can take on some other stuff now that you’re empty.

Don’t forget the kindness. Yours. Other people’s. Gentle words, an empathetic look, just knowing someone is out there to reach out to.

Don’t forget to stop and remember.