It's it funny how something simple brings a person to your mind?
A few days ago, I walked into a store and the smell reminded me of my grandmother so much, it was almost like she was standing next to me.
Scents, words, sounds, sights, can bring someone to your mind just out of the blue.
Gypsy moth nests to it for me every time.
Years ago, i had been living in Holland and came back to Bellport, Long Island and we were staying at a friends house while my mom looked for a home for us to move into. We were standing on the deck of the patio and i saw this white dense cotton looking thing in a tree in the back yard.
"Uncle Ronny, what is that?"
With his cigarette clenched between his teeth, he turned around and said "Damn it, Jackie, get the blow torch."
Jackie went and got it from the garage and with a flick of his lighter, Ronny was heading to the back yard with this blue flame and he set that sucker on fire. Looking around, he found two more in his yard and WHOOOOOSH, they went up in flames.
"Ronny! Be careful, don't set the tree on fire!" Yelled his wife, Shelley.
I looked at Jackie, and asked what they were, and was told they caterpillars that would eat the entire tree bare. She pointed to a tree in the neighbors yard that was completely devoid of leaves.
Now, some 35 years later, every time i see one of those tents, i think "Damn it, get the blow torch."
But another thing that i do is pray. Every time one of those memories creep up, I pray for that person. In Ronnie's case, he has passed on, but his wife, three daughters and their families are then covered in prayer.
When I hear someone yelling for their child to come in, I remember "Joy Ann! Joy Ann S---k!" and say a prayer for a neighbor of long ago.
Pancakes always make me think of Mirjam and all the pancakes we convinced her mom, Tante Inge, to make for us. I pray for Mirjam, her girls, Gep and Marinka. Chamomile tea also reminds me of Tante Inge.
Whenever I think of someone, I believe it isn't by accident that they are brought to my mind. I think of it as God's little way to ask me to pray for that person, to lift their family up in prayer. There are times i feel the need to call them or write them a note on facebook, the feeling is so strong...so i do. And I can't tell you how many times that person has told me they needed that message, they were down and the prayers gave them strength. Or there was something wrong and they needed to talk to someone, and i just happened to call.
So, count on it, something out there reminds me of you, and i have prayed for you.
I love you.
