I was laying in bed last night*, thinking about my alarm clock. Which sounds normal, but I was thinking about it for reasons different than the usual "must it really go off in the morning?" Instead, I was thinking about the fact that I've had my alarm clock since junior high-ish. That's a long time. That's more than half my life. (And yes, I did think about the fact that I've had the same clock for 20+ years, but I've had about 6 cell phones in the last 13 or so years. In terms of alarm clocks, the actual thing way outlasts the cell phone version).
Then I got to thinking about other things I have that I've had for a long time. Not journals or baby photo albums, because, obviously. But other things. I have a skirt that is still in great shape that I've had since at least college. The only reason I don't wear it is because I need to replace the elastic, which is easy enough.
I have a cross-country shirt from my freshman year of high school. Still love that shirt. It's a big large, so I don't wear it often, but it's super comfy. (Also a very bold yellow-orange).
I have multiple gifts from my high school bestie: a teddy bear, the game Cootie, and an elephant pillow.
I have jewelry from my church's youth program, so I have had some of it since I was twelve. I don't wear it, mostly because it's gold and my preferred jewelry material is silver. And a few other knick-knacks from that 12-18-year-old Church youth period.
I have 19-year-old magnetic sand (it is sand with a lot of iron in it, and the iron is magnetic) that I brought back from the Dominican Republic. Pre-9/11, but I still don't know how I got in the country with it.
There is my copy of Don Quixote, in the original Spanish, that I purchased for one of my classes in college. It is massive, and a bit of a trophy. I read the whole thing. In 17th century Spanish.**
I have a shell necklace that my memory legend tells me is from my grandpa. I don't remember getting it, I've had it that long. I must have been really young.
There's a Christmas ornament, a Santa Claus made of straw, that I got when I was about 5. There was a couple who ran a ceramics shop in my congregation, and we got ornaments from them (I think we painted them ourselves), but mine broke, and I think they gave me the straw Santa as a replacement. I still have that.
I think that the oldest thing I own is a doll I got for Christmas, when I was about three. The doll is at my parents' house, which means the grandkids can play with her. I get a kick out of telling them just how old that little doll*** is. There are a couple of other dolls that survived my childhood, as well. One my grandma made me, one that I got for Christmas that was pretty posh--she had eyes that closed!
I have a quilt that my mom made when I was very young. She made them for me and my sisters. I got the blue one, and mine is trashed. Still in one piece, but pretty worn out. But I still have it. And a comforter I got for Christmas, and a quilt I made as a teenager.
I still have most of my first (and only) set of dishes, from when I started college. I had to replace two bowls, is all. I do find that pretty impressive.
Oddly, I don't think I have any books from my youth. I remember the books I read, but I seem to have redistributed them over my lifetime. Same with games. There is a goldfish game that I got for my birthday that is still at my parents' house. But no others. At one point, I had a Pound Puppy game, but I have no idea what happened to that. My folks might still have my Fisher-Price dollhouse but most of my books and toys just disappeared into the blackhole of time. Which is fine. Can you imagine if you had to keep everything you ever owned ever? What a nightmare!
Anyway, not sure that there's really a point to this, it was just interesting to think about the things that have been a long-term part of my life. There doesn't seem to be any real rhyme or reason to it. Some of them don't even have any real stories beyond what I put here. It's just interesting to think about. Also, I think it might mean I'm getting old, but whatever. I've earned it.
*or was it this morning? Time is very disorienting these days.
**and bless the professor who made sure I understood what I read.
***Her name is Alison. She was made by Fisher-Price. Although, the interwebs say her name is supposed to be Bobbie. Ha, what do they know?
