It’s Gonna Leave a Mark

Do you ever pause to think about the lasting effects that others have made on your life?

Me neither. There’s too much going on with the people in your and in my present sphere to take much time to think about those who’ve touched us, touched our hearts and souls in years past.

While I’m very reflective by nature, as you may also be, I honestly don’t go there so often. Sometimes a song or a scent or a scene in a movie will cause a memory to return though. Just as did recently when I gave some attention to a little old side table that was pushed off in a corner. I put in some elbow grease and was giving it a good polishing when I noticed something I hadn’t before.

There on the back side underneath, barely visible yet permanently engraved, was an indelible mark.

I used to sit and read with my coffee cup on one corner of it with my feet propped up. Sir Riley would curl up under this little table just to be near me. There were times that he, my overtly entitled Cavalier spaniel, was allowed on the sofa to curl up next to me. But more often than not he preferred the cozy shelter underneath the little table.

Having made this recent discovery the table has now been elevated to National Treasure status. It is truly one of a kind. And not because a skilled craftsman designed it as a custom one-off piece but because an unskilled craftsman (a.k.a. naughty but much loved spaniel) left his tradesman‘s mark on it. OK, let’s call it what it is. Teeth marks.

In giving some overdue attention to this dusty little table I experienced one of those dejavu moments. Someone, some dog, who is no longer here had left me a message from the past. A love note I suppose.

People and pets do that. They leave marks on our hearts that remind us we were loved by them. Indelible marks that are persisting, enduring, unfading and not to be forgotten. So bring on the teeth marks, the scars, the permanent though not oft revisited impressions that can subtly define our lives. While some may do their best to remove the trace of a remaining imperfect spot, I choose instead to preserve those indelible marks, leaving them permanently engraved there on my table and in my heart.