“All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.”
Toni Morrison

I recently painted Lake Agnes. Lake Agnes is in Alexandria, MN. I grew up there. I walked and biked past Lake Agnes every day. One day, I drove by, and never returned. Until now. Sometimes, my brain and my heart are like water. They find it hard to forget. Unlike water, I couldn’t return. I thought if I got too close, it would rise inside of me, rise so high, that I couldn’t breathe. Time didn’t really change anything. Time can’t. But experiences can. People can. Love can calm any water… and filled with this, I returned… Not because I had to, but because I was led there. The water didn’t forget. I didn’t forget. The water washed away the bruises and tears and lies and pain. I didn’t have to forget, I just had to let go… let it wash over me. Back to where I was, I was free to go. Free. I was washed clean. Free. I was saved. Free – this beauty, I will never forget.