Fireflies flit and spin in the coming of the summer night.
The leaves rustle on their tall branches as the cool breeze glides by.
Tonight is a perfect night.
They come from their hiding holes.
They come from their nests.
They come from their sunning spots in the middle of the lake
Tonight is the perfect night.
Past the tall grass and into the thicket
They all come trotting, in a swaying line
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Meaningless objects
I find it interesting how we can attach so much emotional and sentimental value to otherwise meaningless objects. Simple, easily replaced items that could be misplaced, tossed out, traded in for something bigger, better and shinier. Yet these things are so steeped in bonding ties, we could never imagine such a thing happening to it.
My younger sister was started some math class and needed a calculator. I had a simple 4 function one that I didn't use any more. So I let it her have it. There was nothing impressive about it. I had bought it from a drug store that was next door to the grocery. I really had no need for it, since I using a much more expensive TI calculator at the time. I thought nothing of giving it away to her. After a time, I had forgotten the thing even existed.
Several years passed. I was in college and my sister was in high school. I was home on break when my sister told us that someone had taken her calculator. It was very obvious that she was upset, to the point of tears, that her calculator was gone. I figured that she must have had one of those expensive ones now, like I had. I would have been upset too. But no, she was talking about that drugstore calculator that I had given her.
"I don't understand," I remember saying to my mother later that evening, "That cheap thing? We can get her a new one if that is all she wants."
My mother simply shook her head at me.
"She's upset because the calculator was yours."
"Then I'll tell her that it is no big deal. She doesn't have to cry because someone stole something that used to belong to me. It's not like I wanted it back."
Sometimes I am amazed at how thick I am.
"No, that's not it. She had something that belonged to you. That made it important. She carried around her big sister's calculator. Now someone has taken it."
I assume that my sister got a new calculator, a much fancier one, after a while. My old one never turned up. We never found out who took it or why. It was just one of those things that happened. For me, it was something so simplistic, but for my sister it represented something more. Something important. Something that was upsetting when it was taken. And I am almost certain that whoever took it had no idea how much value they held in their hands.
My younger sister was started some math class and needed a calculator. I had a simple 4 function one that I didn't use any more. So I let it her have it. There was nothing impressive about it. I had bought it from a drug store that was next door to the grocery. I really had no need for it, since I using a much more expensive TI calculator at the time. I thought nothing of giving it away to her. After a time, I had forgotten the thing even existed.
Several years passed. I was in college and my sister was in high school. I was home on break when my sister told us that someone had taken her calculator. It was very obvious that she was upset, to the point of tears, that her calculator was gone. I figured that she must have had one of those expensive ones now, like I had. I would have been upset too. But no, she was talking about that drugstore calculator that I had given her.
"I don't understand," I remember saying to my mother later that evening, "That cheap thing? We can get her a new one if that is all she wants."
My mother simply shook her head at me.
"She's upset because the calculator was yours."
"Then I'll tell her that it is no big deal. She doesn't have to cry because someone stole something that used to belong to me. It's not like I wanted it back."
Sometimes I am amazed at how thick I am.
"No, that's not it. She had something that belonged to you. That made it important. She carried around her big sister's calculator. Now someone has taken it."
I assume that my sister got a new calculator, a much fancier one, after a while. My old one never turned up. We never found out who took it or why. It was just one of those things that happened. For me, it was something so simplistic, but for my sister it represented something more. Something important. Something that was upsetting when it was taken. And I am almost certain that whoever took it had no idea how much value they held in their hands.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Well look at that. It's 2013
Well a new year is in full swing. I wish I could say that I made some resolutions or something along those lines. But I didn't. I am not quite sure why. Usually have some goal that I want to tackle. But this time, there was just nothing. I guess I am kind of tired of December 31st rolling around, I think of all the things I'm going to do differently and then it only lasts for a few weeks. By February, I'm right back where I was in December. Probably a very pessimistic way to look at resolutions, but it is what it is.
This New Year's Eve was the first one that I have spent with family in several years. While it was nice, it didn't feel complete. There is normally a ritual that my family does; something that was started spontaneously when I was really young. We watch NYE in Times Square on television and when the ball drops, we all drink a glass of ginger ale with cherries in it. Dad usually says some short prayer of thanks, we all say Amen and finish watching tv. This year, while I as finally able to be home, my sister couldn't be there. My parents don't have tv any more, so we had to watch the webcast version of the ball drop on a livestream. That was...different in a strange, quirky sort of way. My dad slept through the whole thing and only mom and I ended up drinking ginger ale together. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't slightly disappointed that we didn't keep tradition. I have no idea when I am going to be home for NYE again.
There is going to be a lot of changes that are going to be happening for me in a few months. I am not sure if my brain is processing it all or if it has decided that it wants to shut off and not think about it. In a few months, I have plans to go out of the country, attend my first PAX East, graduate from school (finally), and have my first legitimate job as a physician. I am going to try and take it all in, because I feel like if I blink, I am going to miss it.
Maybe that is why I was so chill when it come to ringing in the new year. I knew that life for me was about to make several changes in really big ways, so there was no reason to make any resolutions. The ball is already rolling.
This New Year's Eve was the first one that I have spent with family in several years. While it was nice, it didn't feel complete. There is normally a ritual that my family does; something that was started spontaneously when I was really young. We watch NYE in Times Square on television and when the ball drops, we all drink a glass of ginger ale with cherries in it. Dad usually says some short prayer of thanks, we all say Amen and finish watching tv. This year, while I as finally able to be home, my sister couldn't be there. My parents don't have tv any more, so we had to watch the webcast version of the ball drop on a livestream. That was...different in a strange, quirky sort of way. My dad slept through the whole thing and only mom and I ended up drinking ginger ale together. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't slightly disappointed that we didn't keep tradition. I have no idea when I am going to be home for NYE again.
There is going to be a lot of changes that are going to be happening for me in a few months. I am not sure if my brain is processing it all or if it has decided that it wants to shut off and not think about it. In a few months, I have plans to go out of the country, attend my first PAX East, graduate from school (finally), and have my first legitimate job as a physician. I am going to try and take it all in, because I feel like if I blink, I am going to miss it.
Maybe that is why I was so chill when it come to ringing in the new year. I knew that life for me was about to make several changes in really big ways, so there was no reason to make any resolutions. The ball is already rolling.
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