Window Dressing

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  At dinner, Cathy gave me a hand-written birthday letter that I love. Her words that have stayed with me?  “How does one encapsulate so many years?  You Don’t. You live in the present and move to the future.  The past is window dressing.” 

The night of my birthday, we went out for dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Field and Main.  As we were having a cocktail, Cathy gave me my birthday “letter”. It talked about our lives together, aging, and particularly this past year. I won’t go into detail, but this year has had its challenges. I loved the letter.  In her honest way, Cath summed up so much, and gave me so much with the letter.  

My favorite part came about halfway through. Talking about my birthday, and all of our years together, Cathy said “How does one encapsulate so many years? You don’t. You live in the present and move to the future.  The past is window dressing.”

What a true statement. From the dictionary – Window Dressing – 1: the act of decorating and arranging products to display in a store window. 2: something intended to make a person or thing seem better or more attractive but does not have any real importance or effect.

Isn’t that accurate?  “Does not have any real importance or effect”. Certainly we are all products of our past, and I know I love telling stories of the past, but you can’t live there. You need to live in the present and look to the future. Otherwise, what’s the point? If you stay buried in the past, what is the future?

Thanks to Cathy for a lovely birthday evening and a letter I’m saving. Her words of wisdom are something all of us could use as an occasional reminder. 

Live life exuberantly – Live in the present and move to the future.