“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” – Mahatma Gandhi
The other day, my wife and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. At times it seems we’ve only just begun our journey together, yet almost two decades later we’ve already experienced so many things; created so many memories.
When we were preparing for our wedding back in 2001, neither one of us gave much thought to a videographer.
Each of us are fairly shy and humble individuals and the idea of watching ourselves on television wasn’t very appealing to either one of us. Not to mention, we’d already reached the top threshold of our budget.
My brother in law at the time, who fancied himself fairly adept at working a camcorder, volunteered to capture our special day on film. He believed it was something we’d regret not having later on in life.
On the night of our 19th wedding anniversary, unable to dine out at an upscale restaurant to commemorate the event, we decided we would watch the video of our wedding day. As the tape began to play, almost instantly I realized there are no goodbyes.
I saw my grandparents, my mother-in-law, and sadly, many others who are no longer with us. Their mannerisms, the unique tone to their voices, the way they carried themselves as they walked across a room. All of these things made it feel as though I had just seen them yesterday – remaining so fresh in my heart and on my mind.
Helen Keller once wrote, “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we deeply love becomes a part of us.”
My grandparents, my mother-in-law and many others are most definitely a part of me, of who I am. Seeing their smiling faces and hearing their laughter once again, on a video I never thought I’d value, solidified for me that there are no goodbyes.
Sometimes it’s a picture, other times a video capturing a moment in our history. Regardless of how it comes to you, it’s always nice to say “hello” to the people who never truly leave us.