Imagine, if you will, that you are given a magic slip of paper and told that you can write down your worst memory and it will be erased...forgotten...deleted.

Would you do it?

Would you write about the day your mother left and you saw your father fall to pieces?

Would you write about the time you had to coax your cousin away from her dead baby's casket?

Would you try to erase the pain of your grandfather's death from your grandmother's face?

Would you make sure the boy you loved like brother didn't get in that car?

No lie, I would be tempted. But I would throw the paper away because no good can come from forgetting.

All of our memories, the good ones and the bad ones, make us who we are.

Wishing away the day my mother left wouldn't make anyone happier. It would have stopped the end of the beginning of better things.

Erasing the pain I saw my cousin endure, well that would, in turn erase Baby Izack and I would never want anyone to forget him.

Shielding my grandmother from the pain of losing someone she spent most of her life with would deny her the gift of mourning, for we can only mourn those that we truly love. When the process is complete your pain fades (a little) and your smile returns when you remember them.

Would I make sure my "brother" didn't get in that car? Oh...how I would want to, but doing so would change everything.

Our experiences are what shape us and we must continue to believe that, the good ones and the bad ones, all happen for a reason.

Even if that reason is often very unclear.

Inspired by a writing prompt at Write on the Edge