The Glue That Holds Us Together

"My Heart Begins Where It Ends"

Kate Jobe 2/13/2009

The past two weeks I have been meeting with my granddaughters and making Valentines. We gathered together pages of shiny heart stickers, magazines to cut pictures from; glue sticks and rubber cement to collage everything together and glitter glue pens to write magical sentiments on our finished products. White paper lace doilies were high on my list of necessary supplies, but I was unable to find them in the store where I shopped...a minor impediment solved by folding paper and cutting it into “snowflake” hearts. When all the heart stickers were used to embellish two Valentine cards, I used the sticky paper surrounding them to cut out more and amazed them with my ability to produce hearts where there had been none.

In addition to sharing this joyful experience with my granddaughters, this Valentines Day has brought me another special gift of shared memories. Within the same time frame that I have been making Valentines I also connected with an old friend on Facebook who gave me the phone number for her sister, who is a dear friend of mine that I haven’t seen for at least 20 years. Our shared memories began before my divorce; before the birth of my children and even before I was married. My daughter, Annie, shares the same name of this woman, given to her to honor the bond of my friendship with her namesake.

Years ago, my friend Annie and I spent countless hours doing what a lot of young women who are friends do. We talked about life, our futures, men and music we liked. But more than this, we spent countless hours laughing. Memories of laughter shared with good friends fortify me and burrow deep within my heart. Tonight I spoke with Annie on the phone. Many happy memories came rushing to the surface of my soul as we talked. Most of them were things I had not even thought about for years. Talking about who I was then manifested a panorama of people, places and sounds from that time frame that surrounded me and has stayed with me throughout the evening. I hadn’t realized how merging with my past would bring such clarity to the person to whom I have grown to become. To many people I am many different things and am even known to them by somewhat different names. At work I am Miss Kate, to my mother I am Kathleen, I am Mom to my children and Nana to their children. My current friends call me Kate. To Annie, I will always be Katie. I like that.

What memories have you recalled recently that help you to understand more deeply who you are at this time? How does who you were in the past give strength and joy to your present lifetime? Are there old friends with whom you are feeling compelled to seek out?