Lynn writes the main events of the year during each Christmas season in her annual newsletter. In straightening and culling (librarians also call it "weeding") her stuff, she looked at her collection of previous Christmas seasons, which are a short version of our history. Today, she read the letter from 1993.
I have memorized the date of the earlier year in the '60's when we moved to Stevens Point. It was a big year for us since we moved to the edge of the north woods, into more snow than we had experienced before. It was a change from a large urban area to a smaller community, smaller than I had lived in before. But for me, the 1990's were lively but somewhat undated. Hearing the rundown of the events during some of those years was wonderful.
People often reminisce over photos of kids and family events but written descriptions can be stimulating and moving, too. When Lynn went to grad school for her doctorate, she drove the 100 miles home most weekends. Sometimes, I stayed in her tiny apartment instead. It was split-community living. Then, she got a job 120 miles away in a beautiful part of the state. I kept teaching at Stevens Point but I also taught in La Crosse. More split-community living. After a while, things worked out so that we both lived and worked in the same community. But there were adventures and trials and accomplishments along the way, and it was sure fun to be reminded of them.
We have lived together and known each other for more than 60 years, but I still marvel at what she remembers and manages to get me to recall in my own mind that I can't think of alone. Just yesterday, a friend with a degree in history and I were agreeing that it is not possible to have an experience without grasping certain aspects of it that another person skips. It is not possible to have all the awareness and impressions that another person has. I imagine that is even more true when a person is older and has more memories, associations and beliefs to add to, contend with, and contrast with.
