The days are getting shorter, shadows are growing longer and the groan of children realising they're back to school soon is getting louder. The days of Summer are coming to an end.

For some, the summer of 2016 will be one they'll remember with fondness. Babies were born, couples were joined in matrimony and families spent quality time in each other's company.

There will be others though, who look back with sadness and Heartache. Because while there is birth, there is loss and while there is love, there is separation. 

Many people like to think of the end of summer like the end of a chapter in a book. It's a really lovely way to think of it, because unless that chapter finishes with the words, 'the end', you know that there will be plenty more chapters, twists and turns along the way. 

You'll live some more, you'll laugh some more. There will inevitably be plenty more tears. But the things you've known only make you more ready for what's to come.

Whether parting was sweet or sorrow, you wouldn't be the person you are without those that have come in and touched your heart, whether it was for a moment or a lifetime. Heartache teaches us to love and loss teaches us how to cherish what we still have.

A Memory isn't just looking back at what has happened. It's far more powerful than that. A memory is an emotion that you can feel time and time and time again. 

A memory is a lasting fingerprint on your heart and your soul.

The best thing about a memory, is that it's what you chose it to be. You control whether you remember the good times or the bad. You decide whether you keep hold of the loss, or all the great times you shared together.

Are you going to try desperately to suppress the pain of good times gone, or are you going to stand strong and realise that everything you've been through has made you the amazing person you are today. Personally, I wear my memories with happiness and pride. What about you?

When the green leaves in your garden turn a golden brown, the dark nights begin to draw in and you feel like the chapter is drawing to a close, walk straight ahead into Autumn, with all those beautiful Summer memories by your side.