Old School

This unexpected gesture got me thinking about journaling. I journaled faithfully through high school and college. Those journals capture so many details of my life - the good and the bad - and will be a large part of my own memoir when I get around to writing it. I also kept my paper calendar until I went digital. They, too, give me the names of people, dates, and places that were significant to me. I’ve set them aside and also put a note on them for my family: Do not read unless you have debilitating insomnia.

There are other clues around, too. Dates and artist names on pottery and art we have bought, greeting cards and letters stuffed into a file folder, jewelry receipts and appraisals.

Maybe that’s what a life really is: a collection of small artifacts and their histories, along with our loved ones, that prove our connection to this time and place.