Nostalgia is deceiving
jasonleow • 9 Jun 2025 •
How to know you moved on in life:
Old cherished haunts, old beautiful memories no longer feels the same when relived.
I tried to bring my family to one of my favourite places in Kyoto today. But everything that could go wrong went wrong. We started the day too late. It was mad hectic trying to buy train tickets. The idyllic bicycle ride I envisioned was waaay longer and had more up slopes than I remembered. The queue at the pastry shop was too long. We ended having just an hour to picnic and it felt so rushed. Even hopping across the the river with the stepping stones was worrying because had to watch out for the kiddo all the time. Then we had to rush back to return the rental bikes and by that time my thighs were cramping up from having to go fast with an extra 20kg at the back. We were exhausted by the end.
That nostalgia had been deceiving. I had imagined sharing the same beautiful experience I once had with my family, but times had changed, priorities shifted, situation couldn’t be more different.
That idealistic dream turned out to be a practical nightmare.
The river is no longer the same river.
I am no longer the same person.
You can’t step into the same river twice.
Every time I travel with my family now, I relearn this. The hard way.
Time to just create new memories instead of trying to reliving old ones from a past life long gone…
Comments
Beautiful piece in terms of lessons and reflections. Sorry about the horrible experience though. 😅
A very realistic account presented in beautiful writing: I felt the frustration.
When you’re back in a couple decades and the kiddo is pushing your wheelchair, you’ll probably experience some now-stalgia.