A couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to be looking at a friend's Facebook page and noticed one of her friends, one of my teachers in high school. I was immediately reminded of something he said and did that was wicked and unprofessional, the target of his action was me. I sent him a message asking if he was the same (name) that taught at (the last high school I attended), and he confirmed with an immediatly cheery, "Yes that's me. Were you in one of my classes?" I responded that yes, I had been in his class. Then I proceeded to remind him of what he had done, noting that it was not one of my fonder memories of high school. I tossed in another little 2 cent shot that was not uncalled for or over the top rude, but made my point. I got an instant apology.
I felt so much better! How silly to let the nastiness of someone else bug me for quite literally decades, but I did a clapping happy dance after I hit, "Send" and feel SO much better for it! I was not wicked or rude, just stated the facts. Wow, it was liberating.
Still, I have to spend less time thinking about the unpleasantries of my early years, the mistakes I've made, and the pain caused by other people and focus more on the happy times.
Yesterday I opened my old cedar chest and started digging through the contents. There were a lot of things I'd forgotten about. I found letters from my now deceased mother and in-laws dating back to when I was a newlywed. I found Christmas cards from friends in middle school with whom I only recently reconnected (and am loving it!). There is a TON of artwork and school papers from my kids, my own report cards, my silly Roller Gear (the dopey outfit I wore to Bay City Roller concerts that has an unimaginably small waistline), and journals dating back to age 12. Another wow. It has been a fun reminder of time long past and, thankfully, a reminder that there was fun and good stuff mixed in with the craziness of my parents at their worst. It will be another day or two before I've completed the organizing and purging process (time to toss the extra wedding invitations). For now, I'll enjoy reminiscing but resist the habit of living in the past.
