Lost Boys...Seven Years Ago

 Facebook has a function where it shows you something you posted in the past. It highlights a memory from the day in history...your history, as chronicled by Facebook. This morning the above picture showed up as my memory.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words...

But, how many memories is it worth?

I loved this picture when I took it, and I love it still today. On this day in 2014 I was part of a community theater production of Peter Pan. I was a pirate--it's fun being a pirate. I worked with a tremendous team, from the director to the stage crew to the theater staff. Wonderful people.

Then there were the lost boys. 

If you've ever done a show with kids, you know it's a challenge. If you have a couple of kids in a show with adults, they usually do well. Maybe it has something to do with trying to impress the adults. I don't know. But when you get a gaggle of kids in a show, they do what groups of kids tend to do...

They act like kids.

Now, I don't want to give you the wrong impression--these kids were great to work with and did a fantastic job onstage and off. They were just loud and fun and enjoying their experience. For me, the photo caught their spirit, their joy, their wonder.

It's been seven years. I can't remember one of their names, but I've kept in touch with many of their parents (some were in the show...). They're no longer children, hopefully no longer "lost." They do what Peter Pan couldn't--or wouldn't--do...they're growing up. For me, the past seven years have come and gone with much of my life feeling the same. 

For them...it's a lifetime.

I hope our lost boys are still loud (within reason...), and joyful, and full of wonder. I hope they're above all happy, they way they used to be.

Seven Years Ago...

On this day, seven years ago I posted something on Facebook. Today, I was reminded (thanks Facebook...) about it. I haven't thought about that little item since then, but when I saw it again, it reminded me of why I posted it in the first place.

It got me thinking, a lot has happened in seven years. Seven years ago, my oldest was fourteen, his next oldest sibling was almost eleven, their daughter was nine, and the youngest of our four was five. The reason I thought about my kids was because of the message contained in the little clip I shared.

It's the story of a man and his son and a memory they had years before. If you want to watch it, click: HERE. It's in Greek, but it has English subtitles. It's a really beautiful message, one that means more to me as time flies like the little sparrow. I can identify with both the son and the father.

I wonder if my then five-year old son remembers things we did seven years ago. I wonder if I do. I have the advantage of having a journal entry for every day since 1985 so I can look and see what we did. It's so easy to forget when we're wrapped up in our own lives, we forget those that mean the most. Click on the link--the film's only a couple of minutes long. It just might touch you as it did me.