On very quiet Sunday mornings, as I lie still in my bed, I hear the sound of church bells off in the distance. The chiming fills me with a familiar warmth and memories of a distant past.
I was born Episcopalian and, as a very young child, attended church regularly with my parents. Though my grandmother Irene had a far more relaxed and broad-minded view of religion, I occasionally miss the ritual of my parent’s faith. Perhaps I miss them more than I know. I lost them in an accident so long ago, I wonder if the little girl I used to be is still grieving.
Isn’t it funny how sounds, smells, and even tastes will sometimes trigger far-off memories and longings of childhoods? Days will pass before I think of my parents, then suddenly a distant church bell will remind me of the times when they were close by and I could count on them being there.
Does that happen to you as well? What sensory triggers remind you of the distant past, a long-gone loved one, or a cherished memory?
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