A Life in Boxes

This is the view from where I am sitting:

It is strange to see your life in boxes, all tightly packed with everything that you own. Each box is filled memories. There is a box with a few small trinkets from my childhood that remind me of a time when life was carefree and my biggest stressor was attempting to get a good grade in math class. Some boxes contain small mementos from high school such as my graduation cap, tassel, and several albums full of photos from various proms and trips.

Other boxes contain more recent items. One has a few letters that Matt and I exchanged when we were dating. Another holds Isabelle’s belongings, and one contains an imprint of Mark’s feet from when he was three months old. The more treasured items sit alongside boxes filled with pots, pans, clothes, and lamps.

It is strange to see it all in one place. Some boxes are reminders of happy points in my life. Others bring back painful memories, and still other boxes contain meaningless life essentials that allow you to do things like make dinner.

I know that all of the boxes are filled with material belongings. None of it will follow me when I leave this earth someday, and I certainly don’t measure my worth based on how many boxes are currently filled with my stuff. However, sorting through all of it the past month or so has been like flipping through an old yearbook. It is amazing how time goes by so quickly. It doesn’t seem like all that long ago when I was going to prom. Is it really possible that I graduated from high school over a decade ago, am married, and have had two children?

Sometimes I look at Mark and think, “Six months old? Slow down, time!” Here are just a few milestones that our little sumo wrestler has reached recently:

-Mark currently weighs in at 22 pounds.  Needless to say, I have pretty strong arm muscles these days.

-Mark is moving all over the place! Depending on your interpretation of his movements, he is crawling.

-He sits up on his own like a champ, however he does occasionally get distracted and fall backwards.

-After exclusively breastfeeding for six months, he has now tried the following foods: avocado, summer squash, peas, carrots, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. Peas took a little getting used to, but he loved the rest.

Can you guess which one was peas?

-Mark currently has four teeth: the two bottom center teeth, and his Dracula fangs on the top.

-Due to an ear infection followed by another infection, then two more teeth, and a move, his sleeping has been a bit wacky. I’m tired, so don’t ask. ;-)

-Mark’s favorite things include sitting on his dad’s shoulders, his jumper, hitting his toys against the floor, crawling, grabbing things that scare his mom (Definitely time to baby proof!), giggling uncontrollably for no reason, and spitting up.

It seems like just the other day when all he did was sleep and poop!

Seeing my life packed into boxes has been a good reminder to appreciate the small moments in life. Our time on earth is finite, so we should treasure each moment that we are given and those with which we choose to share it.