A Lot Has Happened In 6 Years

I watched a TV show last night where the lead character woke up after 6 years in a coma. Not only did he have almost perfect recall of what happened before he fell asleep, he also woke up with extra sensory perception, as a part of his brain never tapped into had been somehow stimulated. Although that part made for the main storyline...I was lost in the what happened during the six years he was sleeping sidebar.

And, as you can imagine, a lot happened in 6 years.

He asked his doctor to call his mom, but she had passed away. When he saw his fiance', he learned that she had moved on with her life. As she tried to fill him in on what had been going on in her life, she made a few news event and pop culture references, telling him about a musician he hadn't heard of. She then said "I'll bring you her CD" catching herself with "oh wait, do you know what a CD is?"

I turned off the TV and marveled at the "coincidence" (which I don't believe in) of my watching that program on this particular evening. You see I really don't watch much TV so the timing of my landing on that particular show with that particular storyline wasn't lost on me. It was the eve of the six year anniversary of Phil's death.

I know this sounds crazy but I've laid awake at night and imagined some sci-fi plot that makes it possible that he walk through the door. Maybe he had amnesia or was captured by aliens, who knows...but somehow he walks in and we pick up where we left off. I know a lot has happened in six years, and like the character in the TV show, I know picking up where we left off would be difficult. But still...what would he ask? What would he be amazed about? What would he think about the world, politics, pop culture, today's current crop of country artists? What would he think about me...and his girls?

I thought about how Laura was 10 and Elise 13 when he died. Now almost 17 and 19, he would marvel at the young adults they have grown into. Although technology has progressed, because Phil was always an early adopter,I don't think he'd be too surprised at where we are 6 years later. He had a cell phone before most people did, paid over a thousand for a video camera that now costs a quarter of that, and even sold a guitar or two online before I even heard of eBay. I do think he'd appreciate the digital advances in media, however, and I'm sure we'd have a different (very expensive) TV than I do now! And, this whole social network thing and blogging would be new to him.

As I write this, I realize I don't have one digital photo of Phil, which is why he isn't on any of these pages. I really do need to go to the photo albums and scan some in.

Yeah...a lot has happened in six years, but one thing remains constant. One thing hasn't changed and never will.

Love.