Current No. 2 of 31 · the second half of life

The Keeper of the Thread

Strong in Story: making sense of the life I have lived
Growing in Mark: passing something on to others

The Keeper of the Thread, an original photograph by John G. Geier III

A recipe kept only in your head is a meal that ends with you. You carry a family's reasons the way some people carry recipes: by heart, and nowhere else. That is the gift. You remember what happened, and why.

You will recognize this

A grandchild asks a question, and you give the short answer. A photograph turns up, and you know everything about it, and you say, “That's Uncle Ray,” and leave it there. You assume no one wants the long version. Someone does.

You could tell anyone why the family moved, why the business was sold, why your father never went back to that church. You can still hear exactly what your grandmother used to say. Hard chapters included, it is all in order.

This season

The stories could wait for years. The elders were alive, the children were small. Now you are the elder. Many of the people who could have answered your questions are gone, and you may know how that feels. Nobody else holds what you hold.

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