The leaves are falling and already he can’t believe how much time has caught up with him. Almost 19 years of his life he has walked this earth and all the old holidays just start getting more like a routine. It’s the middle of October and still he can lie on his bed and remember the smells and traditions of Christmas, or even New years and all the other holidays to follow.

Being a victim of habit this is no new thing. Another Halloween with friends by the bon fire, or Thanksgiving when he eats the last of the yeast rolls. And though all these holidays are so happy, the more years he spends going through them, the more bitter they become. And those moments where you remember all the traditions, you wonder what will it be like this year.

This year he’s away at college. He’s away from his home, his family, and his beloved pet that was just like another brother. Being thousands of miles away it feels like he’s a little kid again, with new experiences and different traditions. Yet as the snow falls in December he looks out the window feeling homesick because it is so quiet now.

And back thousands of miles away, where a house is also just as quiet. Going into his room feels odd now, knowing that he’s gone. Only feeling his ghost in there as memories play back in the minds of the family. Finding extra cookies left in the jar, and getting used to an empty driveway.

And in these times when we think of holidays he gets so sad, because now, he’s pretty much never coming back. Sure, he’ll visit and maybe stay the summers, but never live back in his old home like when he was a child or teenager. All those memories of fighting over GI Joes and yelling because someone clogged the toilet and sneaking cookie dough from his mom are just that. Only memories.

Life moves fast and yes, many scoff this idea and go on walking the hallways of high school. But it never gets in place until realization hits and those childhood years are gone. And this is where all stories begin to take off. Even if it is a story of a teenager you have to consider their parents had gone through the same thing. The day when you are no longer cozy up at home, but left in the world to make a family of your own.

Maybe he wont see his family again, or go back to the way things used to. However, those memories are with him until he dies. A memory is a precious and beautiful treasure that is something no one can take away. Whether it be good or bad, it’s a treasure, a gift. Imagine what it would be like if we could not hold onto our memories…how different going on your own would be…..