remembering... something
01.29.2005 // 7:24 p.m.in the process of packing, i've been sorting through various boxes... and i came across what i like to refer to as my "box of memories"... although... there are things in there that i want to remember, and things i'd rather forget forever and ever... the "box of memories" contains...
some rather generic/ordinary things...
a sixth grade yearbook
three junior high yearbooks
two high school yearbooks
a folder of certificates, awards, report cards etc from my school years (beginning with first grade)
high school diploma
graduation announcements
an album with school photos of people i was friends with my senior year (many of whom i no longer speak to)
a special edition newspaper from january 1st, 2000
a special edition newspaper from 2003, when the buckeyes won the fiesta bowl
a special edition newspaper from 2003, when the enormous snowstorm hit ohio
two ink 19 music/culture magazines from florida
rare coins given to me by my grandfather
silver from my christening set
mementos/postcards from various places i've been
letters written to me by my dead greatgrandmother, my two dead grandmothers, my mother, etc
and some rather personal things...
photographs of me & my ex-fiance on various trips here & there
a few especially moving letters, cards etc from my ex-fiance that for some reason i still feel compelled to keep
dog tags from our trip to washington d.c... which read "MOUSE 11-19-1997 FOREVER" and "RAVEN 11-19-1997 FOREVER" (we each had two made, and exchanged them the day after we broke our engagement� this was some dying dream we had, as if we could ever really remain the best of friends after all that we went through)
and then there are some really horrible things...
(and these are all to do with my exboyfriend/z's dad)
a copy of a restraining order issued by the state of FL
a copy of a restraining order issued by the state of NC
a copy of a restraining order issued by the state of OH
used CDs, tapes, comic books, GI JOE cards, video games etc sent as "gifts" at valentines day (which he does every year, just to fuck with my head)
numerous insulting & threatening letters
printouts of numerous equally insulting & threatening e-mails
numerous unsettling poems of a schizophrenic/bipolar/drug-induced nature
printout of pending criminal cases and warrants obtained through a criminal background check
i'm curious... what do you keep in your memory box and why? how long is it appropriate to hang on to mementos from prior relationships? is it better to be open & honest about this sort of thing? as in.. i have this memory box full of things from my past... and you're welcome to go through it and see what there is to see... or is it better just to hide these things away and risk them being found? does it really even matter?
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
~William Shakespeare, Mid-Summer Night's Dream, 1595
