The New Year is upon us and with it comes the beginnings of many new experiences. What we have left now from 2008 are a lot of memories. It is the memories of our lives that we carry with us for the rest of our lives. As we begin to think back over the months in 2008, we will remember our birthdays, anniversaries, births, deaths, family problems, graduations, making new friends and fun celebrations. But the memories of our trips, vacations and visits from friends may be the memories we think of the most. Then there is the realization that we are a year older and sometimes this brings a lot of surprises that we did not know would happen. Yes, getting older will surprise us in how we make decisions about being on committees, changing jobs, or even redecorating rooms in our house.
It is good to sit down and reflect on what you have accomplished or have experienced in the past year. Some of the things we will remember are the deaths of our friends and relatives, changes in our health, the purchase of a new car, marriages and divorces of friends, winning awards at art shows, discovering new recipes, losing something and having a new grandchild. Memories are what the past year is all about and we record the memories with pictures of what happened where it happened, and what it involved. A traffic accident, some kind of dispute or argument or something awful like a fire that destroyed valuables. Then there are surprises, big surprises that we never thought would happen like news of winning the sweepstakes.
It is the experiences of our lives that we use when we wish to create stories, paintings, speeches or any kind of creative statement. Children and adults keep their memories of different situations and experiences in their lives to recall and tell to their friends. When asked what are some of your best or worst memories you have for the year of 2008 usually when asked about Christmas there will be many different kinds of memories. Some will be happy, sad, exciting, loving, terrible, unusual, crazy, upsetting, friendly, compassionate and even laughable. Now for a new year of memories.
For more information contact Jaylene Armstrong, retired art educator from Madison Wisconsin, at 661-255-3050.