There have been many times in my life, when I thought someone was following me, taking notes and then used what they saw in a narrative, a presentation, or a Sunday sermon. I truly believed that, and still do, especially in the past when going to church and listening to homilies delivered by our former pastor, Father Dennis Mende (Rest in Peace). It always seemed that what he spoke about at Mass was taken from events and my reactions to them, which happened in the past week. As a kid, after church and hearing the sermon, which our parents emphasized the importance of listening to it, Mom or Dad would ask me if what was said in the homily reminded me of anyone I knew? (Meaning me).

As I got older and started listening to music, and not just memorizing lyrics, but attempting to interpret the meanings of those lyrics, then use them in my home, my classrooms, the athletic arenas where I coached, and often times in this column, as well. They helped me convey messages and offer a lot of food for thought to my children, students, athletes, and those who read these weekly narratives.

I call these things food for thought, because their meanings provoke me to think about how these sermons, lyrics, adages, etc., can help me be a better person. They’re food for the heart, mind and soul, if you will. I feel if I ingest those meanings into my heart and mind, hopefully it will help me to be a little more wise, compassionate, tolerant, accepting, and forgiving. I hope my “feeding” them to others, might make them reap the same type of benefits. It’s an ongoing process though, and sometimes it has to be repeated over and over, where sometimes we can do and be all those things, and sometimes we fall back and need to revisit them to remind ourselves of their meanings.

I’ve tried many times and succeeded some times in growing and improving my shortcomings, and I’ve failed some times in my attempts to be consistent in that improvement. It’s when I fail that I try and reflect on some of what I’ve read in books and/or articles, or heard in training sessions, clinics, seminars, church sermons, and in song lyrics.

A week and a half ago, I had a lot of time to reflect on my amazing life with my bride as she was lying in a hospital bed, often asleep from medication she received as she had issues with gall stones resulting in the removal of her gall bladder.

As I sat in her room, often times, just watching her sleep, and again when I went home to an empty house and tried to get some sleep in a very lonely bed, I was reminded of a song which was released in 2003, was included on an album called Greatest Hits Volume II, and received a nomination for the Country Music Association Award Song of the Year. It was written and performed by popular Country Music Musician, Alan Jackson. The title of that song is the title of this narrative, “Remember When.”

As I sat in solitude while Sally slept in that hospital room, Jackson’s lyrics became more meaningful, as I did “remember when” so many things were done and said in the 44 years we’ve spent together as fiances and spouses, and in the fear that often times comes to mind in many serious surgical situations, I found myself becoming very afraid. In “remembering when” though, there was somewhat of a calming, soothing effect that came over me as I felt Alan Jackson wrote this song just for us and just this situation. So, today I’d like to share those calming and soothing words in the hopes that you, too, may use them to find comfort in situations where you may need a little peace in your souls:

Remember When

“Remember when I was young and so were you And time stood still and love was all we knew You were the first, so was I We made love and then you cried Remember when

Remember when we vowed the vows and walked the walk Gave our hearts, made the start and it was hard We lived and learned, life threw curves There was joy, there was hurt Remember when

Remember when old ones died and new were born And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged We came together, fell apart And broke each other’s hearts Remember when

Remember when the sound of little feet Was the music we danced to week to week Brought back the love, we found trust Vowed we’d never give it up Remember when

Remember when thirty seemed so old Now lookin’ back, it’s just a steppin’ stone To where we are, where we’ve been Said we’d do it all again Remember when

Remember when we said when we turned gray When the children grow up and move away We won’t be sad, we’ll be glad

For all the life we’ve had And we’ll remember when

Remember when Remember when”

Thanking Alan Jackson for, and wishing all these words to all who are in situations where “remembering when” is the medicine we need to bring a calming peace to our minds and hearts.