I have been going through old photographs recently and it has been a blast from the past.

My siblings and I are lucky enough to have had all of my daddy’s slides converted to digital files so that we can look at them and have copies of our own. There were thousands and it has been a lot of fun to spend time looking at blasts from the past.

I saw this picture of our kitchen in the parsonage in North Fairfield, Ohio.

Immediately I was transported back to that day some 45 years ago.  A day that is still vivid in my memory.

See that red arrow?

See that square in the corner of the formica countertop?

That little trivet is hiding something.

Something that I did.

Confession time.

I made popcorn and put the hot pan on that exact spot WITHOUT a hot pad or trivet.

Yep.

You know what happened.

Heat + formica = melted and burned counter top.

So now you know.

When I found this picture I saw that and remember exactly how I felt at that moment.  I knew I had messed up.   Living in parsonages meant that we were dependent upon the congregation to provide our home and we tried to take care of it.  When I did this I remember feeling horrible and like I had somehow failed those people who provided this home for us.

Years later I still remember.

Hopefully the kitchen has undergone a remodel since then and this little scorched area is long gone.

How often do pictures evoke memories?  I may not have a great memory or remember a great deal about when I was really young but this I remember.  Because I remember feeling like such a disappointment.

Perhaps some 45 years later it is time to let go of those feelings.