Ordinary Wonderment

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~ From the television show The Wonder Years

Today's Joy: Your Best Days.
The word has been given, Reader. Another of the rare and delicious dinner cook-a-thons is scheduled for next Saturday night at our dear friend Todd's house! Hurray! I've blogged about these much-anticipated events in the past. And will be sure to include photos of this installment's culinary antics for your enjoyment.

In the meantime, Todd has set us a task. It's such a good one that I want to share it with you. He asked each of us to come prepared to name the three best times we've had in our lives. The only stipulation is you may not include the obvious--your wedding or the births of your children. Todd feels that would be a cop-out. (-;

So, poor Aunt was up until 1:30 this morning thinking furiously about her three best times. She fears she may well be up again all night tonight! All her effort has got me thinking about mine. After all, we can't show up to a Foodie Event with lame answers! (I hear the theme this time is a fab seafood spread....)

When I think of my three 'best times', two were spans of just a few hours while one actually lasted for several months. The first was my last semester in college at the University of Maine at Farmington. After 2 & 1/2 years of grueling class schedules and working full-time, that stretch from January to mid-May of 2003, was where all my hard work paid off. I attended the most stimulating classes of my college career, enjoyed deep & wonderful relationships with my professors and received opportunities I never expected. It was also the first time in my life I felt really together. My peers valued my opinion. I was proud of my work. I was hobnobbing with famous writers. It was simply the best time of my life up to that point.

My second best time was Christmas of 2008. It was one of my most favorite holidays. Just a few months before I would move to Texas, we were all gathered together around the dinner table--everybody seemed happy and at ease and in love. It was better than a Hallmark greeting card. And whatever happened afterwards, in that moment, we were all safe and well and perfectly content.

My third best time was just a week later. On a trip to Oklahoma City with my then-boyfriend, we spent New Years Eve at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in downtown OKC with my very best friends and their spouses. While it was chilly outside, in the conservatory, the air was warm and all the tropical plants were lit with Christmas lights and decked in gorgeous poinsettias. There was a band playing folk music down among the palm trees while listening couples lingered all along the crystal bridge above. I looked very smart in my favorite hound's tooth coat and hat. I remember feeling SO blessed to be spending New Year's Eve with my dearest friends and the man I loved for the first time in my life. It was romantic and wonderful.

Well, Reader. Hopefully my little reminiscence got you thinking about your three best times. What were they? And when? What made them so darn special? I'm all ears!

Every man's memory is his private literature. ~ Aldous Huxley

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
~ Edward de Bono

Quotes courtesy of The Quote Garden.