As I sat in the room with my most loved ones 
and played the game of “remember when,” I realized,
that the most treasured things in life aren’t the perfect, neither in the living–or the retelling
but the memories, the most precious parts of the story of us are the things,

that didn’t go as planned

Like how the youngest was sick when we travelled through Bangkok–every. single. time.

And how we walked with tired limbs for hours before we found transport after the New Year’s firework display off the Burj Khalifa that only lasted five minutes

We almost lost each other in a different New Year’s Eve crush, clinging desperately to each other’s hands on Park Street, Calcutta. Somewhat horrific, but laughing in the end  

And then there’s the crazy old man that screamed at us to get back from the edge of the Grand Canyon even though there was no way we could have fallen

Or remember the too-hot-to-sleep nights in Fiji when the neighbours would all sing, harmonies floating in balmy air

And remember when Dad thought that there was a gas station ahead but there wasn’t, yet we made it on fumes towards the ancient glacier along the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. 

So many other stories of adventure survived around the world—together.
Incredible shared beauty that marks and feeds our corporate soul

It’s not the themed amusement parks of fleeting pleasure,
but the stories of adversity that are leisurely spoken of in our remembrance.
These are the things that bind us together, the foundation of our familial bond

Priceless narratives that remind us we have really lived—and often thrived
The cracks in our lives that are ‘just ours’, they make us strong
Shared adversity seals our hearts in priceless ways,
in a bond that no one else can quite appreciate

So the next time things don’t go quite as planned, instead of stress, embrace
Gather all of the ‘not quite’ fiercely in, hold it close to your chest,

let it grow rich in memory, and smile,

because it’s all the golden cracks that bond us together
that embody the most beautiful whole.

©Heather Pound 2022