Throwback Thursday Dream

By Laura Edwards

#throwbackthursday may be the most popular hashtag game in the history of hashtags.

My extensive photo collection is the subject of lore among my family and close friends. There’s no telling how long hashtags will stick around, but I could play this game for a million Thursdays.

Taylor's school pictureNothing about Batten disease has been easy since my sister’s diagnosis in the summer of 2006. But I can’t find the words for 2014. I run for my sister because watching her run two 5Ks after losing her vision is the most inspiring thing I’ve ever witnessed. So it’s hard to fathom that she struggles to walk a few feet, even with a walker, and will soon be confined to her wheelchair. I can’t explain how it feels to know that Taylor will never talk to me again; sometimes, I think that’s the worst part. When I hold her hand, I hope she knows who I am. But I’m not sure.

If I could, I’d give up every last picture I have for one chance to go back in time, for just one day.

My sister talks and sings and laughs; she runs and skips and plays. She hums along to the beat of a song, and we talk about our day.

We share ice cream cones by the fountain in the muggy afternoon. She holds her own and licks the chocolate chip cookie dough, her favorite, from the sugar cone as it melts in the sun.

We walk to the park so I can push her in the swing. She tells me to push her higher, higher! She squeezes the chains and stretches her legs toward the sky.

We wind down in front of a movie on the sofa in the cool basement of my parents’ house. She snuggles close to me and watches the princess story, her bright eyes focused on the screen.

At night we lie side by side in the grass, our hands behind our heads. We count the stars and lightning bugs, and a little girl shares her dreams.



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