A Year Gone By

 

There's something about looking back.

Looking through pictures. Sharing stories.

Laughing. Crying.

It's a gift to look back. It's a gift to remember the stories - the events - the people.

It's a gift to walk through those moments.

They represent the life we have lived.

The good. The bad. The sad.

It's our story. Our life. Rich. Full. Challenging.

 

We can sit surrounded by pictures and memories and remember.

Our cups overflow with those memories - the sights, the sounds. All of it.

"Do you remember when?" 

We have shelves filled with albums. My phone overflows with pictures and videos. All around the house are mementos that speak of stories of the past. 

I love looking back. I love seeing pictures of my babes when they were younger. I love chuckling and remembering. I cherish the rips in my heart over those who are gone. 

They signify life. Love. Relationships. 

And then there's Preslley.

A year has gone by.

His album is empty.

He has no new pictures.

Just the same two pictures from a year ago.

He has no memories apart from the dreary day by day life in an orphanage where sameness is the rule.

He has no mementos hanging around his bed.

What is his belongs to everyone. Nothing to call his own.

And saddest of all.

He has no family chasing across the ocean to get him.

I yelled for him a year ago.

I am yelling again this year.

I am a broken record for a little boy living in a broken system.

I am again raising money for his grant account.

I know. Broken record.

I am again trying to raise awareness for him to find a family.

Another broken record.

It's easy to get bored by the sameness of it all.

Julia's yearly cry for the orphans across the ocean.

Julia's yearly plea for donations.

And life goes on.

And it has.

For a little boy lost in a system that doesn't care.

A year gone by.

An empty photo album.

Preslley.

He has a matching grant of 1,500.00.

That's 500 more than what we try to raise each year.

He's worth every penny.

His grant account needs to reach 3378.00 and another 1,622.00 will be added.

The goal is to get his account to 5,000.00.

Help me.

Not just raise money but get him seen.

He has two little pictures in his album.

They are over a year old but it is all we have.

Share them with your neighbors and friends.

Share them with your spouse.

Share them with your heart.

Share them.

PRESLLEY