Open a Box, Out Comes Memories

The other day, I sat down and looked through six boxes I had of just . . . stuff.

I still have more.

I went through my room and picked up everything. Everything.

My room is clean.

But all those boxes.

I survived going through them.

Nearly every item I held in my hand and distributed into either "get rid of" or "keep" boxes held some sort of memory. I sat there in my living room, finding this toy or that photograph. That stuffed cat I got at the Pacific Science Center. All the "spy gear" from my snoop craze. The friendship book my friends and I only partially filled in.

Here I stopped.

I didn't cry. I felt like doing so. But, it was like I couldn't.

I undid the band holding it shut and cracked it open.

Not every page was filled in. So many are still not done. This little game or that little story. Just waiting to be played and told.

The ones that were filled in brought back so much.

The Mad Lib I did with a girl in my ballet class.

The "I.D." cards many of my friends filled out.

So many pages done by me and my best friend.

All marked with dates in 2007. or 2006. I can't remember.

The pages my best friend and I did draw me in the most. Our fill-ins. The letter she wrote. The ten things about me that made her smile. The fashion drawings. Hot or Not. The list could go on.

What funny little middle-schoolers we were. Happy and care-free. We thought life as we knew it would just last forever. In some ways, it did. In some ways, it didn't.

As I slip the book into my keep box, memories come flooding back. Nothing could defeat us back then. On top of the world.

It's true I miss those days. But I understand why they changed. I wish they hadn't, but they did.

But then again, if they hadn't, my life would be different.

And I love my life as it is now. God has given me so much.

I miss being a kid, but we can't be little forever. Growing up is a fact of life. Something I'm still trying to come to grips with. Good thing I'm only 16 and have time to do so. LOL.

Going through that stuff was good. It gave me some time to sit back and remember times gone by. It also made me look forward to times to come. I can't wait to see what God has around the next bend!!!

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Starting tomorrow, I will not have access to a computer until after the 16th of July. That being so, I will not be blogging during this time. I will try to blog about Endeavor (which is where I will be next week) as soon as possible when I get back. A link to my FaceBook pictures will be included in that post. God bless and hope you have a great week!!