14 Comments
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Megan Turner's avatar

What a beautiful reminder to savor the present moment. Thank you!

Caroline McCarley's avatar

❤️❤️❤️

Brad Richmond's avatar

this was so great! Now, come home - we have memories to make here!

Roberta Hill, Wander After 70's avatar

A perfect read Caroline. Thanks. I was particularly taken by the blurry picture idea. I too think sometimes we remember a distorted version of the story because of our pictures … as we’re looking through them and not from our own experience.

Caroline McCarley's avatar

Such a good point! Ive never really thought about it like that.

Rebekah Burrough's avatar

Beautiful. This maybe one of my favorite articles I've read here. It's so true how the moments we don't capture with our camera, the interactions with people we didn't expect, the joy we didn't anticipate, the beauty we didn't know was around the corner, are such a major piece of our life story and the moments we remember.

Caroline McCarley's avatar

Thank you for this ❤️❤️

Sarah Sutton's avatar

My travel philosophy is “leave room for serendipity” - don’t over-plan or overbook, protect space for the special, unexpected moments that become the lifelong memories from the trip.

Caroline McCarley's avatar

Will have to add this to my travel philosophy as well!!

samu blasko's avatar

Whenever I travel somewhere, I try to write down at least a few things to see/do and events to attend, but in the end I barely get to it, cause as you write, we remember what we do, not what we choose to.

Your writing took me by hand through the small, random memories of my own, thank you for that :)

Caroline McCarley's avatar

Love this!! Thank you!!!

Evelyn Chapman's avatar

I loved this and I miss catching lightning bugs too! Thanks for bringing me back – and it's such an excellent point about travel too. We plan these once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but it's always the 'nothing' little moments that matter so much more.

Caroline McCarley's avatar

I’m so glad I’m not the only who misses catching lightning bugs!!