It's funny how the human mind works. Each sense can invoke a memory long dormant, stored in the recesses of our brain. The smell of a flower. The silhouette of an image. The hum of a song. The taste of something you forgot you once had. The familiar trace of fingers along your body.
Sometimes the good memories show up, and it brightens your entire day. Sometimes they'll bring a tear to your eye and shake you to your core.
Good or bad, the memories that burst through make who I am. What I am. And those experiences helped to shape my life to the point it's at now. My mother passed when she was 39, barely having seen a fraction of the wonders that my eyes have witnessed in the last four. Her death fractured our family apart, as she was the glue that held us intact. Only in the last few years have the pieces of my family been precariously placed back together. It's been slow going, but the difference is noticeably night and day. This bonding of father and son and the continuing life lessons are what helped me decide to remain in Taiwan for another year, though my heart yearns to be back home in Texas, where my friends are, where things are familiar.
Don't worry though, I'll be back for a while, and before you know it, I'll be back for good. Just try not to forget about me.
