Recently, I was having dinner with a young woman who is very close to my heart. I was talking about how fast my children grew up, and now it seems like the grandchildren are growing up even faster. I told her the really sad thing is, the grandchildren don’t remember some of the times with them that are the most special memories to me. These moments happened when they were younger - too young for them to remember. 

That day, my friend gave me a lesson I will never forget. She said, 
   “But YOU remember. The memories are for you.”

What? I had never thought of it that way. I have great memories of times with my own grandmother. I wanted to be the same kind of memory maker that she was. Now I wonder if she thought about who she was making memories for. Me? Or herself? Or did she even realize she was making memories?

Think about the best memories from your past. It could be from your childhood, college, or as an adult. Think of the memories you carry in your heart. Do the other people in that memory remember the event? Does it touch them the way it touches you?

Maybe we can’t create intentional memories. Maybe it is in the moments of life where love is so deep that those special moments lodge in our hearts. We have no control over whose heart the memory lodges in. Maybe the memory floats around like the light of a firefly until it finds the right heart to burrow inside of.

If you are lucky, you may be the space where the memory lands. It lives there happily and quietly until, in special moments, it flutters in your heart and tickles your brain to remember.

Memories are unique. Even if a version of it lodges in another heart, your memory won’t be the same as the other version. We each encode, store, retain, and retrieve information, behaviors, and experiences in our own way. 

I remember that dinner and those words so clearly. When she said, “But YOU remember. The memories are for you,” those words burrowed deep in my heart. It was a message I needed. It was a learning moment I will never forget. 

Do I think my friend remembers saying it? I doubt if she does. It was one of those in-the-moment conversations that passed quickly. But so many times I have felt my heart flutter and tickle my mind to wake up that memory and remind me of the lesson I learned that day.

 Don’t expect others to remember events the same way you do. Your memories are unique to you. Your memories are for you. 

I would like to believe that somewhere deep inside, my children and grandchildren remember special times with me. I would like to believe these memories are burrowed in their hearts, waiting to flutter when the time is right. But even if that never happens, I remember.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                   Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                               Your memories are for you!
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                                 Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2026 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
#CornerofSpiritandBrave #LoveYourLifeNoMatterWhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness

I have an old clock. It is a Westclox Big Ben De Luxe, made by the Western Clock Company of La Salle, Illinois. The patent date is March 29, 1927, and was made in the late l920’s. This was one of Westclox’s premium lines of mechanical alarm clocks and has the green crackled enamel finish, which was a signature style at that time. It cost $3.75. This clock was a dependable middle-class family item that was required if you were a farmer or a railroad worker and needed to be at work on time.

There is a plate on the bottom of the clock that is stamped, A.R. Davis. After researching this, I learned that A.R. Davis was a Westclox engineer and patent holder. His name is stamped on many clocks from that era. 

My great-grandmother was married to a man named Albert E. Davis and lived less than 2 hours from where this clock was manufactured. So, of course, I wonder if somehow there was a connection. That is a mystery that may never be solved.

Other than that, it is just a clock. A clock that I always remember seeing on the bookshelf of our family home when I was growing up. A clock that I was drawn to. When my mother passed, it was a treasure that I brought to my house. ​Now it sits on a bookshelf in my office.

Today I looked at it and kept wondering why. Why was it always in our home? Why did my parents believe it was important to keep? Why didn’t I ever ask questions about it?

It was fun to do a little research and learn the details about where it was made and how old it was, but there is so much more I wish I knew. I wish I knew how many shelves it sat on. I wish I knew how many hands have held it, wound it, and set alarms on it. I wish I knew how many hours it counted before it stopped working. How long has it been permanently locked in at 4:23?

In my mind, I think of a family in 1930. They probably lived in a small farming community in a small home, and this clock woke them every morning. The story in my mind is sweet and simple, but the real truth is a mystery.

I think about the tick, tick, tick it made as it counted the minutes of a life from a time I never lived in. I wonder what the alarm sounded like as it went off in the morning. I wonder if the base is cracked and chipped from being slapped and knocked off a shelf when the alarm rang.

I think of how this clock has been passed down in my family. I wonder when the story of who it belonged to and how many shelves it sat on stopped being told. 

Now it is a piece of décor that looks cool on my bookshelf without a story attached to it. The days of counting seconds, waking people up, and ticking away time are done. To me, it is a reminder of a past connected to me. A reminder of how fast time goes. And a reminder of mysteries that will never be solved.
                                                    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                       Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                   The real stories of the generations before us remain mysteries.
                                                     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                                 Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2026 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
#CornerofSpiritandBrave #LoveYourLifeNoMatterWhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness

​If you have applied for a job, you probably have a work resume. You know, the document that highlights your skills, accomplishments, and work background. This gives a prospective employer a snapshot of your ability and if you would fit into their workplace. It tells the story of what you do.

Have you considered creating a life resume? Not a summary that spotlights your work abilities, but a document that highlights how you are doing in life. Instead of sections on education and past work positions, your life resume would use a different format and include details on your strengths and challenges​ in life. It tells the story of who you are.

Relationships. Are you connected? Are you surrounded by friends, family, a significant other, or a spouse? Do you hold children close to your heart? Do you give selflessly? Do you have associations and involvement with people? Do you have emotional commitments and connections with others?

Outside World. Do you care about the environment, your community, and your world? Do you plant trees and nurture a garden? Do you support community improvements? Do you cherish this amazing world that we are lucky enough to inhabit? How do you care for the world outside of you?

Spirituality. What do you believe in? What stirs your soul? What do you lean on during trying times and give gratitude for during times of plenty? What centers you and gives you peace? This may be your God, a religion, or a knowing. When you take a deep breath and look at the sky, what cleanses your thoughts? What do you hold sacred? This is spirituality. What is this for you?
​
Wealth. This is not about your bank account or how fancy your car is. This is about feeling wealthy. Do you have what you need to survive? A shelter to live in where you feel safe. Do you have food to eat and clothes to keep you warm? But more than that, are you surrounded by friends and family, do you feel loved, and do you have free time to relax and read a book? These are all luxuries that should make you feel wealthy. What does your wealth look like?

Purpose. I believe we are in this life for three reasons. To learn what we are here to learn, to teach what we are here to teach, and to love and be loved.

How would you report your success in this area? Do you take lessons from your life experiences, even if they are failures or tragedies? Do you teach others when you have the opportunity to? Not in a boastful or bragging way, but in a kind and caring way.
And finally, have you loved and been loved? Have you loved during the hard times and the good? Have you allowed others to invade your heart and felt their love reach inside to loop the love you hold and allow it to circle back to theirs? Have you loved family and strangers alike? Have you loved and been grateful for this amazing life you have been given?  

You may have more categories to include in your life resume, but you see the point. This isn’t about punching a time clock, hitting your goal, or how good you are at making money. This is about emotions, feelings, and your purpose in life.

What would your life resume look like?
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                                        Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                    A work resume tells the story of what you do.
                                      A life resume tells the story of who you are.
                                    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

​YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                                 Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2026 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
#CornerofSpiritandBrave #LoveYourLifeNoMatterWhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness

I was not raised in a wealthy family. I never noticed. We always had clothes to wear and food to eat. Our vacations revolved around road trips to see grandparents or a camping adventure. We were taught to be respectful, do chores, and not talk back. My siblings and I spent most of our days building roads in the sandbox, riding our bikes to the swimming pool, and squabbling as kids do. It was a simple time. A happy time.

I wonder if I knew I was happy when I was happy?  

I was in 9th grade when I took my first plane trip. We went to my uncle’s funeral. I remember seeing him at the visitation and crying uncontrollably. It was my first experience with grief. It was a new feeling in my gut. It hurt in a new way. ​It was not like a skinned knee from a bicycle crash. It was a wound to my heart that I had never felt before.  

I wonder if I knew I was grieving when I was grieving?

I have a photo of me when I was 22. I weighed 97 lbs. This was much less than my ‘normal’ thin weight. I was married and had a toddler and a newborn. I was not eating and crying a lot. Looking at this photo and remembering that time, it is obvious I was struggling with postpartum depression. I do not remember anyone asking me if I was ok, after all, everything in my world seemed perfect. Postpartum depression was not a term that was used back then.

Looking at the photo of this sad girl, I wonder if I knew I was depressed when I was depressed?

So many times in life, we rush through experiences, good and bad, with an oblivious heart. We don’t feel the moment for what it is. We glaze over the emotions we are feeling- until we look back.

Memories have a way of waking up past emotions. Looking at photographs, watching home videos, or bumping into an old friend can suck them right back to the surface in a new way.

When you run into an old flame, you might remember the break-up, but when you see them, you may also remember the happy times that the pain buried.

Watching those home videos of your childhood, you may be struck by the memories of how much you wanted to be a grown-up. How much you wanted your childhood to speed by so you could jump into life. You may also realize that this part of your life went by too fast and that you yearn for that time again. The simple time. The happy time.

Looking at old photos of you, you may be overwhelmed by feelings. The excitement of when you were a teenager playing high school sports. The thrill of wearing that tux or white dress, walking down the aisle to begin a new life, and wondering what the future would hold. Oh, how young you looked. The combination of love and fear that filled your heart in the photo of you holding your newborn. And the grief that pours from the photo of you holding your loved one’s hand as they passed.

There is nothing like a photo album to walk you through your life in an emotional way.
And with every photo, you wonder…if you knew then what you feel now.
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
                                                  Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                                       Don’t rush life.
                              Feel the emotions that every moment gives. 
                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​YOUR TURN...        Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                                 Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2026 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information.
#CornerofSpiritandBrave #LoveYourLifeNoMatterWhat #JourneyThrough #PennieHunt #IAmGoodEnough #grief #Love #Joy #HowToBeHappy #Happiness