Memory Box

So, I have a memory box. I've had one since I was little - my mother couldn't bring herself to throw out certain things, so it just got shoved into a box. As I got older, I put stuff that I didn't want to throw away into the box too.

I don't usually look in it very often - after all, its all stuff that I've seen before - but when I do, there's usually at least one thing in there that makes me smile.

This weekend, I was wondering if I still had an item that I had put in that box a long time ago. I remember putting it in there, but after a few moves to different apartments, you can't always guarantee that things are where they should be. Anyway, I put off looking through the box because...well, sometimes there aren't always good memories in those things.

I bit the bullet today. I decided to go wading through those memories to find what I was looking for. It was almost literally like trudging through ankle-deep water: not impossible to do, but a challenge all the same. The first box was fine - baby pictures and old grade school material, nothing too scary there.

The next box...well, that was the problem box. This one retained the more recent items: apartment hunting notes, lease agreements, bills...and everything from my last failed relationship. It was like things began moving in slow motion; instead of picking up an item and quickly putting it back, I held each thing in my hand for what was probably only a few seconds, but it felt much longer.

Memories of a time long ago past, filled with both happiness and sadness at the same time. It really was a challenge. I didn't subject myself to it for too long - I found what I was looking for and quickly put the box away.

The past can be funny like that...you think that you've compartmentalized it all and put it away so that it can't bother you anymore. Then, one day, you need something from that box. Sifting through those "things" isn't always as easy as it seems. But you'll do it, slowly turning each thing over in hands and in your head, remembering events and people just like it was yesterday.

And with each new emotion that it brings, you'll be tested - do you push those emotions away, back into the box? Or do you bring them out again at a later time, embracing what they bring to you and illustrating life's changes?

Puppy Cam!

If you haven't seen these guys before now, I'd be shocked.

So cute!

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A Special Comment

Say what you will about Keith Olbermann, he knows how to put words together.

I'm not much of an activist, but I also don't like to have my rights trampled on.

If you can listen to what he says and still support Proposition 8, you might just not be in your right mind.

With an open mind and an open heart....

Elections are almost always polarizing. They're supposed to be, by their very nature.

Last night's election went in a direction that many people I know didn't like. Some people are upset. Others are scared. Lots more are excited and anxious.

Some of those who were disappointed with last night's outcome use the following line as a kind of guilt trip - "If you didn't vote, you can't complain." A valid point, to be sure. However, to those that would take the opportunity to complain since they did vote, I would make this suggestion: keep an open mind.

Sure, the election might not have ended up the way you wanted it to. It's totally fine to be a bit apprehensive, as well. But I would encourage you all to approach the next year or so without any grudges or agendas. If your concern is truly for the betterment of our country and our future, holding on to resentment and anger about an election isn't going to help anything.

I'm not saying that I know the future or that I'm so sure that the next four years are going to be the best. I'm just saying that if the situation was reversed, I would hope for the best. I would set aside my disappointment (after an appropriate amount of time, granted) and see how I can be a part of making the future of this country something that I can be proud of.