Memories

Memories can be pleasant or unpleasant. Sometimes a memory of a certain event can have both good and bad connotations associated with it. Measles has been in the news lately due to the fact that some parents have chosen not to have their children vaccinated and people are worried (and rightly so) that this serious illness will make an unwanted comeback.

Most times when a person recalls their own encounter with measles, the memory is not a happy one; however, while my own experience with this illness certainly had its unpleasantness, it also evokes a sweet memory of my mother. My mother has been gone for almost nine years and this month would have marked her 89^th birthday. In memory of her, I share this memory.

Most people in my generation (which was way before the vaccination was available) had the disease as a child, but I progressed into my teenage years without being exposed to it, or if I was, I didn’t contract it. Finally, when I had less than two weeks remaining in my freshman year of high school, I came down with the measles.  Besides being miserable, I was concerned that I would not be able to complete the necessary studies or assignments that needed to be finished before the school year ended.

Of course the school was understanding and I was allowed to do my work at home. However, one of the discomforts of measles is watery eyes which makes it difficult to read. Also, it was thought that if you didn’t protect your eyes from the light while having the measles you could end up with serious eye issues and even ultimately blindness. (I think this is just a myth. My Google research hints at that.) Anyway, like everyone else did in that era, I laid in bed in a dark room so as to protect my eyes from any horrible lingering effects of the disease. Of course this didn’t bode well for doing schoolwork.

I was taking an Advanced Reading class and I still had a book to read before the end of the year. This is when my mother entered the picture. The book I needed to read was “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She picked up the book and sat by my bed and read the entire book out loud to me while I lay with a cloth over my eyes to protect them from any light. I actually think she read by flashlight instead of turning the ceiling light on, but my memory is a little fuzzy on that. Mother was a great reader and made the story come alive and we both became absorbed in the exploits of Scout and Atticus.

When I went back to school there was just a few days left and I honestly don’t remember how I did in any of my other classes, but on the test for “To Kill a Mockingbird,” I got 100%. I returned home that day and said to Mother, “We did it. We aced the test!”

So although to most people, the work measles strikes fear in their hearts or a reminder of a painful experience, it brings to my mind the picture of a 15-year-old girl lying ill in bed, and her mother sitting beside her, reading a book out loud. It is a memory I will always treasure.

I think it does us good to revisit a special memory from time to time, especially when the person is no longer with us. It is also important to share those memories with others (particularly those who also knew the person), so they too can be reminded of times shared together with that special someone. Do you have a memory that triggers a sweet remembrance of someone who has gone on before you? Share it with someone who would appreciate hearing about it.

Mary Lehman

Secretary