Past Life

Two teams of boys, probably ages 9-12, filled a ball field in Madison on Friday. Parents lined the fence and occupied the stands and dugouts. The scene was familiar to me only in the way that I recognized the actitivy as something I've seen before, not participated in.

I was a parent of young boys. They played youth and high school sports. I've been there. I just don't remember the "being there" part. The memory is not vivid. Something has changed. That life is one I believe existed but I don't feel it in my memory. For the last few years I felt that I was getting older and the memories were part of my past. Today I feel that the aging has ended and the memories belong to someone else. I've been asked to carry the memories for someone as if I have to deliver them someplace and then my job will be done. I carry a bag of pictures and notes.

I know I was a father of two young boys. The pictures tell me so.