Howdy, folks! I’m struggling a bit today. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, and I’m just generally kind of bummed out today. So, I thought I would focus on some good memories of mine to help cheer myself up.
So, I am going to focus on gifts I received in my life. Now, I have received countless thoughtful and wonderful gifts. I am going to focus on the first five that popped into my head, in no particular order.
When I was 12, my sister paid for me to be a part of a baseball training club thing. It was taught by the Appy League players — the Bristol Tigers at the time — and it was AWESOME. I was the only girl in the program, which was quite a challenge for my social anxiety. However, a lot of the other kids didn’t think I’d do well because I was a girl, so I had plenty of motivation to kick some butt. I got past the whole “only girl” thing, and I learned a lot. I also managed to win a challenge to steal a base, and I got a baseball for it. I don’t remember how many days it was, but it was more than one. It was such a cool and fun gift!
Baseball!
When I was a little kid, I really wanted an NES. My parents told me no, that it was a waste of money and time, the games cost too much, we already had a computer — all the usual reasons that parents use to not get a console for their kid. But one glorious birthday, I opened a package to find an SNES! If my reaction were recorded today and shared online, it would go viral. I squealed and yelled with the utmost joy. I had that console for years and years and years, until one day I was so poor I had to sell it. It broke my heart. (On a fun note, my sister and her boyfriend bought me a SNES Classic Edition a couple years ago, and I love it so much.)
One Christmas, my parents gave me a small box to open. So, I did, and there was a note inside. “Look in the furnace room.” In the room was a basketball goal — one of those standalone ones with a base that can be moved around. I loved it so much. We had that thing for years and years. We live on a dead-end street, so we could take that thing out in the road — there was NO traffic there — and just play basketball for hours. We had to sell it after I went to college, but I miss that thing.
Now, when some kids turn 16 and get their driver’s license, their parents get them a car. But, I was already in line to get my sister’s car, so instead, my dad got me a computer. Now, this was 1998, so a kid having their own computer was a relatively unusual thing. I took it to college, of course, and it was so so useful there. (To date myself a bit more, the first year I went to this college was the first year it had internet access in the dorm rooms.) A ton of kids didn’t have their own computers, and they always had to use the computer lab. But I could stay in my room and do my work — and play games. That computer died in 2006, a sad day indeed.
And the final gift I’ll talk about: When I moved to my apartment in Lynchburg for my first job out of college, it was close to my birthday. So, I thought I would have to spend it alone for the first time. Well, I was wrong: My brother showed up for a surprise visit! It was so nice! I had been so bummed about being alone and not really being able to celebrate my birthday. And then there was a knock at the door, and I really couldn’t believe it. It was such a wonderful thing for him to do!
And there you go, some good memories that I needed to get a dose of today. These were some well thought out gifts that I will remember for my entire life. I have to remember that while I feel depressed and sad and think about all the crap I’m going through now or have gone through, that there are some really wonderful memories permanently etched in my brain. Typing them out and sharing them really helped me today.
Until next time!
Frazzled Daisy 