At her house for the first time in a long while, we packed boxes of things that were mine to bring home so Sarah and I have to figure out what to do with.
In the midst of the packing, Mom slid in my box.
She started the collection when I was born and remained diligent for almost six decades.
My baby pictures, every report card, each date at every prom stands beside me still, letters and lots of press clippings ranging from High School until now.
When I left Union Mission, she kept the notebook of press clippings so it was interesting to see what the media thought was significant about me.
Sarah laughed at all the pictures.
She holds one up as her girls wander into the room asking, "Who's this?"
"Jeremy," they quickly respond and ... aside from my son parting his hair on the wrong side we look remarkably alike ... when I was his age.
They pour over the prom and dance pictures asking "Who was that girl?"
There are many pictures and clippings from my days as a "Professional Christian" at the Jefferson Street Baptist Chapel in Louisville, Kentucky ... including photographs of our "infamous" church retreats ... when we'd close Church, hang a "Gone Fishing" sign on the front door, and our rag tag congregation of homeless men, public housing residents, radical Seminarians took the weekend off.
There are notes from her friends proclaiming how proud Mom must be of me.
A big part of my life is in the box.
It strikes me that Mom's moving on to other things and no longer feels compelled to keep up with me as much.
She's been there for me all these years and certainly deserves ignoring me and celebrating the rest of her life however she chooses.
I think she trusts Sarah to see me on through to whatever's next.
There's a lot of old stuff in the box but ... it's not quite full and I realize whatever else goes inside ... either Sarah or I will place it there.
I wonder what it will be?
And it makes me appreciate of my Mom more than I already do, which is a lot.
And it reminds me that life is a gift parents give and, while they certainly kept up with it, it's mine ... and not theirs ... and everything already in the box ... and everything Sarah I will place inside from now on ... is ours.
