In preparation for Sprittibee's Yearbook edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling, I went poking around in our shed for old photos.
A bike. A bassinet. Some lawn tools. Boxes of baby clothes. And underneath it all, buried treasure.
I could have spent hours sifting through all that I found. There were my old journals, some saved letters, odds and ends I had collected but no longer know why. The bottom of one box is lined with packets of photos and wrapped in cellophane are two newspapers: The Kansas City Star and the Herald Sun (an Australian paper). Both from the day my oldest daughter was born. Too bad we forgot about that little tradition by the time two, three and four came along.
I pulled a few things out besides the photo albums I had been searching for, including a music box we had bought for our daughter on her third birthday. In it were my three favorite necklaces I used to wear in high school and the bracelet above, given to me by one of my students when I was still teaching.
Most of these things I had completely forgotten about and now they are sitting before me along with a flood of associated memories. Now I remember sitting on a beach in Italy with this bottle of Sangria and packing the empty bottle carefully to save for a candle holder when I got home. It never was used for its intended purpose, being relegated instead to years of storage. I think I will buy a candle this week and go through these photo albums. This time around, however, I think I'll be drinking grape juice.
