Making New Memories to Cover Up the Old

The very wise Rose Kennedy once said, “It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”

There are certain pains that others are not able to understand. They are pains that fill the cracks and crevices within you. These wounds hide in the deepest, darkest places. The once flooding, incapacitating waters of despair that nearly drowned you have receded to a place a thousand miles away. Not one physical trace of evidence remains. No bruises, no scabs, no scars. Some days, it feels like it may never have really happened. Some days, it seems like it may have been just a nightmare. The people who lived through it with you are scattered now. Those who are still around never fully understood the circumstances and have no grasp of the weight of the sorrowful burden that is still buried in your soul.

Time does not heal these wounds. Passing years do not take this pain with them. 

However, with time comes opportunity to forge new memories and to build a life that is contrary to the tragedy left behind. New memories, like fresh paint on a dingy wall, cover over the sadness and make it more bearable to view. New faces, new experiences, new pictures plaster over a painful history. New smells, new sounds, new tastes fill up the bigger spaces, pushing stale, lifeless moments into the hidden spots.

So I will celebrate more birthdays with loved ones, attend ball games with friends, see the sights of this beautiful country, enjoy music and good food. I will continue to build this wonderfully blessed life. It is a life that dreams are made of, honestly. But right now, I will have a good cry before packing up this sorrow for another year. And then I will go on. As always. Making new memories to cover up the old.