What is there? Today when I got up I was looking for something...who knows what..but I opened my desk drawer and the picture before me reminded me of one of those pottery barn catalogs where the contents of the drawer seemed to be evidence of a bygone era...things placed there for no particular reason other than to remind one of the past. The id tags...commonly known as dog tags...reminded me of many old black and white pictures that many organizations use today to remind their sponsors or customers that they support America, its veterans...and somehow honor the past. Its interesting what emotions a simple set of id tags can evoke in Americans. I'm not judging the use of flags or military artifacts as a way to get through to an audience in fact that isn't even the point of this post.
So as I looked at the contents of the drawer I noticed that almost everything in there was significant and had a story. The knife was purchased at Ramstein Air Base in 2008 while I was there with my dad in law. I'm not sure why we were there at Ramstein but we happened into the BX and the knife was on sale. I remember looking at a beer stein with Wade that had a wolf or something else painted on the side which reminded me of the NC State Wolfpack.
The sharpening stone was sent to me by my Dad the last time I was in Afghanistan. He wanted to send a care package so I asked him for a sharpening stone, some bicycle tires, some "Groom and Clean" for my metro sexual roommate, and some craisens. Why do we remember these things and furthermore why do I still have the box that the stone came in?
The official passport in the drawer was ordered up in 2007 as my old unit prepared to fly airplanes all over God's creation to get to Afghanistan. Someone thought it would be a good idea if we had the red official passport in addition to ID cards just in case we were detained while abroad....looking back it was a good idea.
The marker with the red body and black tip was purchased with a pack of recordable DVDs in Boston in November 2009. I was there training with...(omitted)...and they wanted video of the training that they could keep. The pack of DVDs came with that marker....again..why do I still have it. Karen would tell you that I am anything but a pack rat.
The wings...ah the wings.
The ID tags...something we loath to wear, pride ourselves in having a reason to wear, and hope we never have a need for.
The oak leaf...not an indicator of who I am, but of the quality of those who have supported me.
It is interesting that the things in our lives conspire to bring us to where we are today. Every moment of every day occurs simply because of the choices we've made through our entire lives leading up to the moment we call the present.
Pashto language training starts tomorrow.
S.
It is amazing at what memories/feeling inanimate objects can bring about. Each thing is a part of us in some way, a piece of the puzzle that makes us who we are.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...Let's see, in my "drawer" I have around ten plastic place mats, you know the kind kids eat on, with decorations ranging from learning your colors to maps of the seven continents to the periodic table of elements. These mats were used in my teaching years some six or seven years ago. But, alas, times have changed and my little ladies love to use them (although they mysteriously disappear now-and-again as Jason seriously loathes the cleanup of those flat plastic food collectors). My drawer also contains scattered coupons of random products I hope to one day purchase and save some money on. Now if I could only remember to bring them with me to the Commissary life would be grand! A new addition to "the drawer" is pooper scooper bags for our furry niece Benny. A must have when you do for a walk in the neighborhood. Chapstick, many flavors and scents are also plentiful in that drawer. Although our stock is dwindling as Ayrleigh likes to eat the stuff...ew. Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, finger nail clippers. We can never find them when we need them but the second I clean that drawer we come across at least ten. Don't you just love that? Our grilling utensils are also stored there as it's the only drawer in our kitchen that they will fit in. Weird, but it works for us. :) Well, that's about it for the "drawer". Not as poignant as your drawer but it's what I got. LOL! Have a great week!
ReplyDelete~Rachel (or should I say Sprinkles)
Just remember tashnab (bathroom) and shrab (alcohol) and you'll be a-ok ;) -Gina and Gina's Husband
ReplyDelete