By Ann Farabee

Having a moment?

It is that split second in time when you remember something or someone that sweeps your daily thoughts away, and replaces them with the emotions that one feels of something that was long ago or something that is a moment that will never really go away. 

I call it having a moment.

I call it having a memory.

When my son was three years old, we somehow left after a week at the beach without bringing Curious George back home with us. We are certain we accidentally left him sleeping in the bed. Yes, the stuffed monkey did not return. Phone calls to the motel we had stayed at brought no results.

 Curious George was gone forever. We bought another, but the outfit had slightly changed, and there was no fooling my little boy. We could have placed 50 stuffed animals on his bed, but he only would have wanted HIS Curious George.

Poor us. My child could not sleep without Curious George; therefore it took both parents in the bed with him to make sleep possible.  As many are aware, three in a bed can get a bit tight.

Eventually, after a lengthy period of grief and trying out several similar Curious George’s that just were NOT the same, I suppose our lives returned to normalcy. 

Somewhat. Except sometimes – I still have a moment.

Silly, right? My child slept cuddling with George every night.

There was nothing silly about it.

Thankfully, the story ended with us finding a very very very similar Curious George who arrived in the mail for him from the motel?? (Wink. Wink.) More than thirty years later, my son told me that he did not figure out at first that it was not the original George until later when became an adult.

Family beach trip. Stuffed animal goes missing. Yes, I began writing about this experience after having a ‘moment’ where I remembered going through it with my family as we grieved the loss and celebrated the fake recovery and joy of Curious George coming home.

A few years later, I noticed Curious George was no longer in my son’s bed each morning, and one day I realized George had gone to live in the closet.

Even though Curious George 2 replaced Curious George 1 – it was never the same. Curious George 2 never slept in the bed, but stayed 24 hours a day on the toy shelf.

Then later, he chose to go live in the attic.

Or perhaps that decision was made while my son was at school – and we, as parents, had noticed George no longer was given any attention.

That is the end of the story.

Everyone forgot about it.

Well – sort of.

Except for when I have a moment.

God, my Creator, brings moments and memories to my mind for many reasons, some of which are for my pleasure. I can envision my little boy holding Curious George in his arms, walking around the house with him, laying Curious George on his pillow beside him each night as he prayed for George, for me, and for others. Any moment that brings a memory like that to your mind is a gift from God.

Now – years later – I still have my moments.

Yes, Curious George is rarely in those moments.

But – he sure was today as I wrote these words.

I was thankful.

I believe sleep came easier for my young child those nights with Curious George beside him.

I believe I slept better those nights, too.

The most beautiful things in life are not just things –

They are also moments and memories.

Our moments and memories are like a diary we carry around with us.

Enjoy them.

Let me know how your memories go –