He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man.
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Life plays some funny little tricks on you, especially when you’re not looking. A good read can be an escape from reality but when it hits you too close to home it’s just plain jarring. It was just recently on a lazy summer afternoon that I had decided to read Nicholas Spark’s Last Song. I had purchased the book as soon as it was released in late ’09 and started some 35 pages but shelved it. Picking up where I left off, I quickly fell deep into it and couldn’t put it down. I typically always bawl like a baby with Sparks novels but this was a unique case. It’s now been a month or so since I read it and I still can’t shake how close to home it hit. There’s a part in the story where Will explained to Ronnie that the macrame bracelets were in memory of his little brother. After Mike’s death, Megan and Will made matching bracelets. Ronnie asked Will what the letters on the bracelet stood for; IMTF. Will explained that IMTF stood for “In my thoughts forever.” I thought of you today but that’s nothing new I thought of you yesterday and days before to I thought of you in silence and often speak your name all I have are memories and pictures in a frame your memory is a keepsake that I will never part God has you in his keeping and I have you in my heart!
