You Never Know (by Jim Carten)

While driving through Ontario this week, I heard twice within an hour a song and the one phrase that remained in my mind over the years has been, “You never know how much you got ‘til it is gone.” So true! I spent the remainder of the afternoon going through my childhood, from my earliest moments in my memory until the day I left home to join the Navy.

It’s hard driving through tears; foreheads do not come equipped with wipers. I saw my entire life in front of my mind, not chronologically, nor in any pre-arranged sequence, just pop-ups. Basically they were mostly all good: good times, fond memories, family members and events which make up our personal history.

But each one had attached to it the love of a mother. The old saying, “only a mother could love” would be, in some instances concerning my personal history and events column, the only way to justify the tears which rolled on the highway 401.

Today I’d give anything to drop by 235 Victoria Lawn in Stratford, Connecticut and have a coffee with my Mom, spend an evening watching TV, and not even conversing, taking a walk down to the beach, watching her fall asleep after a swim and then dozing off myself.

Yesterday, on the 401 I was there mentally, a cheap substitute to be sure, but I thank God for my memory, even though sometimes it hurts to go back there. Do me a favour will you? Pass this on to your kids … your grandkids and let them know that you never know what you got until it’s gone.

Thanks for reading me…..Jim