The Times of Our Lives

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Women
BY: Audrey Valeriani

During my ninth week-long trip to Aruba with my husband, we spent our time relaxing under a tree and swimming at the beach during the day, and then sharing exquisite dinners and romantic walks in the evenings. We didn't take any photos because we had visited the island many times before and already had plenty of pictures. On our way to the airport we joked that, other than our tanned skin, we had no proof that we had traveled there!

As we stood in line at check-in, we noticed a family who had been on our chartered plane ride down the week before. This day, however, they all had swollen and tear-filled eyes. Sniffling, they shared only an occasional whispered comment. On the plane, we sat directly behind them: a mother and her four children, ages 8 to 16, with no dad in attendance. We learned that the father had been killed in a jet-skiing accident that week, and his wife and children had to bravely make their way home without him.

We watched the moods of the children go from seemingly carefree while playing cards to quiet sobbing when idle, but the mother's face was chilling. Between hopping seats in an effort to attend to her devastated children, she would sit and stare down at her lap, unable to comprehend what had happened. We could almost feel her pain as we realized that this could have happened to any of us that week. While we were laughing and playing in the water, eating chocolate desserts to our heart's content, this poor family had been experiencing the tragedy of their lives. The vacation they had dreamed about had turned into a nightmare they would never forget. Their photographs would capture indelible moments that would haunt them forever.

I suddenly regretted that we had no pictures from this vacation together. I wondered if the memorialization of events in our minds is only triggered by traumatic events. I closed my eyes and scanned my memory, hoping that my mind had properly registered all the wonderful moments I had shared with my husband that week.

Throughout our lives, our hearts will begin to show the wear and tear from the inevitable misfortunes that befall us. We must consciously stop time and record with our minds those moments that make our hearts swell with love and gratitude -- the intimate moments, the surprises, the hours spent with loved ones and friends... all the times of our lives.

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