Memento

So yesterday was #2202. And what a blast it was. Brother took wifey and I for scrumptious greek dinner out in Brunswick, after which, we adjourned to our place to play with my brand new gadget.

Speaking of gadgets, my recent experiences have led me to better appreciate the idea of sentimental items – birthday presents and all. I am just beginning to discover how tangible objects can be infused with meaning; bearing witness to past events, or sentiments that have been exchanged.

Similar to the way ceremonies mark an event on the time continuum, it seems, mementos have the inherent ability to mark a memory in finite space.

Come to think of it, this has been something that I’ve unconsciously practiced over the years. For example, almost every time there’s been a positive change with my work, I would be compelled to purchase an item, mostly as a personal “reward”, thinly veiled behind an excuse to commemorate such an event.

I’m selective about these items too. No silly medals, trophies or certificates, but things that would embed themselves in my daily grind: a wallet, a pen, some gadget, etc.

Peculiar? I’d beg to differ.

I actually think it’s a brilliant way of persisting significant transient memory to a more durable form of off-line storage. Plus, I’m kind of looking forward to being able to tell my kids, “When daddy got this wallet…”