A Month Of Anniversaries

Day 120

And so begins a new month: October. What comes to mind? Autumn? The World Series? Columbus Day? Halloween?

For me, this is a month that is full of reminders, of memories, a month of anniversaries. Unfortunately, not all of the anniversaries are good; in fact, some are quite the contrary, and so I do not celebrate them; instead I acknowledge them and try to move on.

People will often say that you just have to forget the past, not dwell on it, and I will agree with that…to a point. It is foolish to live in the past just as it is foolish not to acknowledge it, to flat out ignore it. There’s a fine line and balance to be maintained. To be able to accept what has happened and realize that while it cannot be changed or altered it does not mean that tomorrow and the rest of the future cannot be changed or altered. Every October I face this challenge and for the most part I succeed, mostly because I have the tools, the means to handle things and move on to November.

There are many great anniversaries to look forward to this month: the anniversary of the birth of my wonderful mother and the anniversary of the birth of my smart and talented nephew Josh Jr. There is the anniversary of when my brother Josh entered the MTC to begin his two year LDS mission. And while there is also the anniversary of my accidental fall (from a cottonwood tree in Rigby, Idaho) the fact that I am able to walk, jump, run, move is in itself a reminder of how blessed I am. The unpleasant, painful and traumatic anniversaries of this month don’t change the fact that I am alive and able to cope with those things and move beyond, move on to the next month and the next.

Maybe you have such an anniversary; not necessarily a month, maybe just a time of the year, a season. If you do I hope that you have the strength, the faith, the tools, the support and whatever else is necessary to be able to acknowledge and move on to the next day, the next month, the next season! And that will be a truly happy anniversary!