Souvenirs

I just discovered I had not published this post from April 25, 2020.

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During this time of stay-at-home orders, I have used my imagination in various ways. One, if I was on a spaceship, I'd have to stay inside the entire time I was in space. I can pretend I am on a secret mission via boat or spaceship. I wrote in a previous post about Howl's Moving Castle -- turning a knob that opens the door to different places even when you never leave the castle. I can also do this each time I look at an object I share space within my apartment.

One of many self-therapies I do is practicing gratitude. This includes paying attention to each and every object in my home, bringing them to life vs. just sitting on a shelf, in a cabinet, on a wall, or in a draw. Many are souvenirs... reminding me of places I used to live or travel to. Some remind me of people I used to know. Here are some examples.

There is a three-foot square quilt my brother's wife made for me when she got into a quilting mood. It is hanging by the table I work at every day. When I look at it, I see in my mind their beautiful house and their land in Vermont... where I visited a very long time ago. I have a digital album of photos I took while I was there. My brother works at Simon-Pearce blowing glass, and many of the pieces adorn my windowsill and cabinet shelves. I can remember touring the facility. I can remember my surprise when I opened a box he sent me and saw he had twisted the stem of one of the long-stem glasses just for fun. One year, he created stain-glass... and sent me one of those... which lives on my front window sill.

There is a blanket with a sleeping kitten on my wall over a loveseat. It takes me back in time when I lived in an old motor home... which wasn't insulated. I consulted with my sister... the one who lives in Washington... about how she stays warm in the cabin they live in. She had told me they put blankets and comforters up over the windows in the winter. I hung this blanket over the window and wall by the bed I slept in. But that isn't all. A kitten I adopted... Snowflake... lay down in front of it one day on the bed in front of the blanket... with the exact same expression as the kitten on the blanket. Even though she is long gone, I can still see her on the blanket hanging on my wall as if she is actually there.

There is a fairy holding a flower on one of my bookshelves. My mother didn't know I had it. But one year, she sent me another one from the same collection. Now there are two.

There is a small Disneyland castle on one of my shelves. Once upon a time, so many years ago, I did get to go to both Disneyland and Disney World. I don't remember which one I got the castle at, and it doesn't matter.

There is a tiny seagull sitting on top of a clear box that has small seashells and stones in it. I remember growing up on the coast of Massachusetts... going for walks on the beach across the street... searching for treasures to bring home with me.

Just before the lockdown, I had reconnected with a long-time friend who began taking me for long rides for sight-seeing, grocery shopping at stores an hour or more away, art galleries, and more. We collected some souvenirs to bring home. Each time I look at one of these souvenirs, I feel like I am in those places again.

Sometimes, when I look at something that doesn't have meaning for me anymore, I decide to donate it... so someone else can enjoy it. I hope they are looking at these things with a similar sense of gratitude.