I was checking notifications as I waited for a response to the email and read Sally’s round-up. I thought twice… and then again… before playing the video, knowing there was little likelihood of getting through it dry eyed. I was right about that. Elvis is not everyone’s cup of tea, and he’d never really been mine, but the man I loved, loved his music and I learned to see a little deeper than the commercial machinery as my partner said in music the words he could not articulate.
I glanced at the time and registered the date. I should have known… I have never pinned much importance to precise dates. The events themselves are what stay in heart and mind. But yes, sixteen years ago, I closed his eyes for the last time.
We had played Elvis at his funeral… the song he had said was ‘mine’ and another he loved. The coincidence of the proximity of the dates had escaped me at the time. For all the grief, it had been a day of laughter and celebration, his coffin piled high with water pistols, paper aeroplanes and itching powder… things he would have appreciated and which defined the mischief he had shared. My mind went back through memories as my fingers clicked the mouse… and found that Cathy too had posted an Elvis song…
Behind the tears and the smile that now accompanies them after so many years, I chose to listen, not just to the words in the music, but to a voice unheard for a long time. Not with my ears, but with my heart. Could I tell you what was said? No… but it left a feeling behind as the keyboard blurred and fell silent.
Memory… the touch of a mind long missed… imagination… wishful thinking? You can place whatever interpretation upon the moment that you wish… I don’t have the answer, and I do not really mind what the objective truth may be. Something touched me, calling up remembered emotions and leaving me with a feeling that I was finally doing what he had asked in the final letter he left for me to find. To love, laugh and be happy.
Does it matter if I feel in coincidence a deeper and more personal meaning? We do that all the time, calling it everything from synchronicity to superstition, depending on our viewpoint. Perhaps it is the results of such nebulous ribbons of events that matter most. Tonight I smiled through old tears and remembered love and laughter; shared… not lost, as I carry the past… what is treasured and what was learned… and take it into the future.
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Bittersweet– all that is left are the memories and the love carried in the heart.
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There are small beauties everywhere that I recognise as the fruits of those years, Eliza. I see them in my sons and in me.
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Now this has brought tears to my eyes… I wonder why. Thank you for sharing…
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It brought a few to mine too… but good ones. x
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Brought tears to my eyes too…and how strange both Sally and I posted those particular videos.
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Both songs that meant a good deal, Cathy.
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I’m sure the memories were good ones and the tears they evoked were happy ones. I sometimes wonder if we’re not guided to these thoughts for a particular reason, perhaps so we’re aware that those we loved are happy to see us move on. To love, laugh and be Happy is quite a memorial to a loved one.
xxx Massive Hugs Sue xxx
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They were, David, and I agree, we are shown what we need, regardless of whether we see that as coming from outside ourselves or within. And perhaps there is little difference.
Hugs xxx
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‘Between the pages of my mind – memories.’ I am lucky to still have my soul mate after forty – five years, Sue. So much time, so many memories – good,bad and sad. But we’re still together. And yet, this post and ‘Words Matter’ make me realise how much I take for granted. It’s the small rituals. Each morning I write for two hours, having placed a mug of nettle tea by his side of our bed for when he wakes (he inevitably tells me later it was cold – well it was five o’clock when I put it there but how can I make tea for me and not him?) I know that sometime, when he wakes, he’ll come in , give me a hug and, without a word because he sees me writing, will go downstairs to make a drink for me. As I said,such small rituals in our lives – and taken for granted. But, this morning, you’ve made me stop and think. And weep. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
On a lighter note, we’ve often played the game ‘ who would we invite around for a meal.’ the names change, except for three who would always be there. For Husband, it’s always Judith Durham of the Seekers (he once told me he only asked me out because I was called Judith – huh!) For me, it’s always Nat King Cole and Elvis – but, of course, they’d have to sing for their supper!
Thank you and may much love come your way this morning, Sue,. Have a lovely Sunday.Jx
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Those little things are such big parts of our lives… the private jokes, the small rituals… and we do get so used to them that we forget the depth of meaning in them and what they are really saying.
But to have decades of love shared, that is wonderful. If it is a bed of roses, well… there is always the occasionally thorn and some make you bleed. But the petals, once pressed, hold their beauty. xxx
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I don’t believe in coincidences Sue, earlier in the week I had featured a completely different song and when I was doing the round up I had a choice from the rest of the top ten.. I was going to play Band of Gold but instead I decided on Elvis.. Cathy and I must have been on the same wavelength. Painful but also wonderful memories and sounds like an amazing person.. And Judith.. I know what you mean… so easy to take for granted the little gestures that make up the tapistry of our marriages. love to you both. XX
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It had to be that one… or I wouldn’t have made the connection. I don’t do coincidences either. Good to be able to look back now through a softer lens. xxx
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We move on, but reserve a part of our heart for those we loved and the memories we still carry of them. Lovely tribute, Sue.
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We carry all the fruist of change within us… those we never lose.
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…touching… deep …thank you for sharing, m’Lady, Sue
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Thanks, Seumas. x
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Lovely, Sue, very moving. xxx
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Thanks, Ali xxx
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Thank you for this was lovely and very moving post.
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Thanks, Mary x
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a beautiful memory, Sue, and so beautifully expressed…
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Thank you x
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What a moving post. How sad that you did not get chance to be together for long, which makes the memories you have even more precious.
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We knew each other for a lifetime.. since I was a very little girl x
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xx
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With this post, Elvis and your “Words Matter”…crying with you, Sue. Meaningful and perfectly lovely. You are blessed to feel life so deeply, and you draw folks to you who are like-minded. That’s a beautiful thing. I’m honored to know you. 💕 Van
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I wouldn’t want to feel it less… to feel is to be alive. Thank you, Van. That’s beautiful. Hugs. x
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You carry his heart, you carry it in your heart (E.E. Cummings) :o)
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Just when I’d stopped feeling tearful too… 😉
Thank you x
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I love this song. I’m sorry for your loss, but happy for the comforts you have.
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I’m just glad I lived it to remember it now with a smile 🙂
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Reblogged this on oshriradhekrishnabole.
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Life, what a journey, thanks for sharing this my friend. hardly know what to say, its all so touching. Behind every tear is a laugh and behind every laugh may be waiting a tear, but it always ends up a tear of some joy at times just of remembrance and souvenirs. Peace my friend.
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Thank you, Obi x
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