ecchi-chan.livejournal.comI was cleaning the other day, just my normal obsessed every little nook and cranny all dirt and grime must die a horrible death at the hands of Mr. Clean and his buddy Lysol...when something on the floor caught my attention. Now, I have to say this first of all...I am a pack rat to a point - yes. I still have my ratty old Winnie the Pooh who saw me faithfully through my Kindergarten yr. at Catholic school. I have a shoe box of notes passed to me from friends I still value to this day. There's the Strawberry Shortcake shoelaces that I used as pony tail holders when I was in HS. I loved to be different in a fun way.
My old Brainy, Smurfette, and Papa Smurf plastic figurine set I purchased at a yard sale for 10 cents when I was 14 has an honourable place on top my bedroom TV. I have a photo album filled with every sticker I have ever aquired since I was 7. And lastly of my treasured momentos - a poster of Johnny Depp from 21 Jump Street.
I have been hauling these priceless treasures around with me since I moved home and went to college. Brought them with me when I married and moved from the dorms to "our" first apartment. I have packed up and unpacked only to do it again these precious items 5 times since that day I said goodbye to my hapless life as a teen to adulthood and all it's comings and goings.
So when I saw this oddly familiar item lying on the floor of my house, I was taken aback. It was an address book from when I was 13 yrs. old. I had not seen it since I was...15? So how this item found it's way into my house of the past year, 1000 miles away from where it was the last time I saw it...I have no clue.
Looking through the pages, I read the names, and was astounded - some I knew immediately who they were, otehrs, it took a few moments for visualizations and memory to kick in...and then there were the masses I had no clue who they were. Obviously, at that time, they meant something else I would not have their names and phone numbers, or little comments by them. Such things as a big smiley by Tim Reeves's number...and a call between 6-7. Yet, I have no clue who this guy is.
I sat there, reading the list of names, remembering people and moments, and I was suddenly struck by how many people we meet in our lives that are only passing faces. Once friends suddenly gone aquaintance to nothing more than empty meaning names written in purple gel pen. Kinda freaky, and sad. I think relationships, friends and aquaintances both, as we grow older hold more meaning - lasting longer in our memories than those of our youth. I think everyone should hold on to their address books from their childhood, because we never know when they will spring up on us and remind me of our greatest journey's, our best moments, and our worst. It's a good anchoring for the here and now...or a smack in the face for we once were.
Just thought I'd share. Sorry so long.