15 Jun The Human Tapestry
“I am a mosaic of everyone I have ever loved, even just for a heartbeat.”
-Hannah Hassler
We are a mixture of all the people we’ve ever known. Small and delicate reminders of those we’ve crossed paths with remain with us, sometimes long after they leave.
I’m struck by this realization as I unlock my computer by entering the birthday of my best friend from sixth grade, pausing for a moment to recall carefree childhood days spent swimming and riding bikes.
On nights I’m tired and am not sure what to make for dinner, I make a plate of little things—cheese, apples, crackers, olives—whatever I have available, because a friend of mine in graduate school would make these snacky suppers for us when we were working on statistics homework.
When I’m tucking the girls in at night, I tell them, “I’m so glad I get to be your mom,” because this is what my mom would say to me every night and I remember how loved it made me feel as I drifted off to sleep.
There are songs I listen to and love because someone I love loved them first.
When I look in the mirror and see the lines near my eyes, etched by time, I think of each line holding the echoes of laughter because that is the way someone explained the lines to me one time, a long time ago.
Back in eighth grade, a teacher gifted me an empty notebook, encouraging me to write my stories. And so, I did. And still, I continue to do so.
Parts of them have become parts of me.
I hope a tiny bit of me is with you too.