The Memory Box
Mike Snyder

The Memory Box

Hon. A. Michael Snyder Hon. A. Michael Snyder

Hon. A. Michael Snyder

Respected Neutral, Mediator, Arbitrator, Discovery Master

发布日期: 2022年7月2日
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If you have children, or nieces and nephews, chances are that your refrigerator may be adorned with their artwork, photos, awards, etc. After a while, these reminders of the very special young ones in your life are rotated off of the fridge to allow for the newest batch of love tokens to be properly displayed.

As the kids grow up, the caliber of their work may change, but there is still likely to be something on display that is a tangible reminder of the kids (adult or otherwise) whom we love.

Cards from these very special people appear at appropriate times of the year: birthdays, Valentine’s Day, etc., perhaps to take up temporary residence on a counter or a windowsill. Once again, their period of being on display is not finite. Some cards are discarded after a while, but others are kept somewhere safe, perhaps because of a note contained in the card.

Special though these items are, we realize that we cannot possibly hold onto the drawings, photos, awards, report cards and greeting cards forever. If we did, we’d soon be overwhelmed with the volume of paper to store. And so, we tend to sort through our accumulations, weeding out those items which can be discarded.

However, I’ve learned that many people do something that I’ve been doing for a number of years to hold onto those documents or things that trigger a very special memory for us: we create a memory box.

My memory box isn’t anything special or fancy. It’s just a cardboard mailing box that fits nicely into a drawer. Into it, I put those cards, letters and notes that make my heart sing each time I look at them. Occasionally, I take the box out from the drawer, open it up, and take some time to review everything that I’ve put in it. As I look at each item, I often find myself remembering the occasion when these very special items came to me. I get as much joy from reviewing these cards, notes, letters as I did when I first received them.

The most recent addition to this box came two weeks ago on Father’s Day. My wife and I drove down to Maryland to spend the day with my son, his wife, and our 5 grandchildren. We had a lovely, fun, relaxing day with everyone. The weather was perfect, everybody was healthy, we ate some great barbecue that came from a local spot, and just enjoyed one another.

Of course, there were cards and gifts, both for me and for my son. Because my son and I share an irreverent sense of humor, we each gave one another a funny card. I also gave my son a more serious card, one that talked about the many ways in which he has made me so proud. In turn, my son gave me an envelope that contained a letter. A letter that had me in tears.

I’m not going to give you details of the letter; they are a private treasure for me, written by my first-born. Suffice it to say that the letter told me of my son’s love, his appreciation of me, and an expression of values that we share. I found myself in tears as I read this letter, just as I now feel these same tears gathering in the corners of my eyes as I write these words.

I’ve gotten many incredible gifts over the years, ones that I’ve taken great pleasure from as I use them day after day. However, no material gift could in any way equal the joy that I felt as I looked at this simple piece of paper.

This letter now resides in my memory box. But the words on it are stored for safe-keeping in my heart forever.

I hope that each of you, as you read this piece, are able to think of something which you have received from a loved one that belongs in your memory box, whether it be a real box, or a virtual one, existing in your mind. I urge you to take these memories out, look at them, and experience, once again, the feelings you experienced when you first received the objects. May your lives always be filled with the most special of memories.

Mike Snyder

[email protected]

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