Archival Adventure

Sometimes the adventure is as simple as uncovering a few boxes of childhood keepsakes and miscellaneous things.  In this case I found things ranging from posters, to butterfly wings to notes written by some gal I can't remember.  It is somewhat soothing to remember that I was a kid once.  Beyond the warm and fuzzy memories you find things unsettling and off-putting, and then start to bring these thoughts into today.  What happened to people in pictures?  Do kids play with toys like this anymore?  Are there kids out there with posters of fish and planets and jars full of dead bugs? 

Here is a mini tour of some of the treasure hunt finds:

I found a quart size bag of these "doubled" shells from Lake Murray.  For my packaging to be so meticulous that they have survived 5 residences and lots of bumps from moving is fantastic.  I was always so excited to find these at the beach and apparently took great care in preserving their joined nature.

This giant poster says, "Explore Uranus."  I remember siting with my Dad, bouncing a bouncy ball against the wall and he made the classic joke.  We laughed to tears.  It was just as funny today when I sent him this picture.  Quality nerd humor, since way back.

Tiny football helmets - I had tons of them.  Saints from way back!  Just kidding, I was a Cowboys fan, all day.  Had the Starter jacket to prove it too.

Plaster of Paris paw print cast.  Seriously, do kids do this?  If not, it makes me sad.  Nothing made me happier than making these, especially if it was a paw print we found in the yard, creek, etc.

Random sewing projects.  Currently learning to sew grown-up style.  Sometimes you have to make a bed for your action heroes.  Action heroes like buttons. 

I drew this dragon over and over and over.  It's a mystery why, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

Stamps, stamps and more stamps.  My mom worked at a doctor's office so I had a rather prolific supply.  Hologram stamps of space!  Seriously, how cool?!?

Books full of foolishness.  YES

How to draw animals. I remember learning to draw cats when my parents were at a car dealership FOREVER buying my mom's black Firebird. 

Jar full of butterfly wings, locust shells and rocks.  Of course, I still get silly distracted anytime I see nature go by or I'm in a big city and see a cool snail on a plant.  Some things don't change.

My Specimens of the Desert Rock Collection.  My parents bought it for me at a garage sale.  There were pages of informational data.  LOVE

So, my Domino Rally glowed in the dark and was super creepy.  The only tile we had was in the kitchen and this takes quite a bit space.  Let's just say real estate was taken over for hours at a time.  This thing has a guillotine, skeleton hangman, ghost in a castle, a giant sliding skull.  Awesome-sauce on steroids.

Lots of tracing things.  I really enjoyed using my neon markers, making art happen.  These are helpful when you are on a rocking boat and trying to draw with precision. 

This thing and the art pad that you could plug into the TV and then watch what you were drawing were king in my kid life.  I literally spent hours upon hours DOING.  Not watching, but doing. 

Flag football jerseys.  My best friend Sheppard's dad was the coach.  I enjoyed every bit of it. 

These photos are some of the people from my 3rd grade yearbook.  This selection also happens to be some of the closest of close.  People I have the best memories with and often cross my thoughts.  From the top:

• That's me on the top right.  Strong clavicle for a third grader.
• Leah Sherman - Classically cool and so very kind.
• Sara Miller - The only one I've seen in a while and such a wonderful grown up!
• Sheppard McConnell - Still secretly adore him 'til death from a distance.  His mother was my 5th grade teacher, his sister a huge influence/mentor/sister.  Wouldn't have survived childhood without this pair of siblings.
• Melissa McGuire - Super cool, the haver of sleepovers.  We talked late into the night.  The classic chick friend that every little girl needs.
• Patrick Reiger - Was madly in love with him when we were kids.  He was (and very much is) so talented, so bold, so charming. 

I couldn't have asked for a better childhood.  As mentioned above, I blessed to be engaged, active and always doing.  Whether art, sports or bug collecting there was always something about.  I worry about kiddos today and their technology and disconnectedness from nature, life, each other.  I hope I'm grossly misperceiving it, but I'd give anything to raise a kid in an era where we have to look things up in a fine set of encyclopedias or make casts of paw prints found in a creek we've been exploring all day. 

This was an unexpected and very positive adventure into the past.