At least I still have my trophy wife

The slow process of going through the remnants from The Corner from Hell continued today, as I went through some boxes I haven't opened probably since they made it up to South Bend from Dayton a good 7-8 years ago. And, once again, about 95% of it made its way out the door. On their way out were some of my old roommate's playbooks from Notre Dame back in 1997-1998 (let's face it, those were Bob Davie years - so it's not like there were some dynamic offensive plays in those books...), my childhood collection of gumball machine NFL football helmets, my collection of medals and awards from Cub Scouts, and a bunch of other little things that I once deemed important, but have lost that importance over the years. Also on their way out, my collection of childhood trophies:

I remember thinking that one day I would display these in my basement - I apparently thought people would be impressed by the "Gold Glove" award from my little league days, my array of second place trophies, my blue ribbon from the water balloon toss back in 5th grade, or my "Participant" ribbon from the 3K run back in my home town's summer picnic/festival thing (clearly it's so important that I can't even remember the name of the event). I ended up keeping two trophies. The first one is the trophy from my family's annual family reunion golf tournament. I figure since my Dad and older brother each won it and have their names on the trophy, I'd see if either of them want it. That way they can look at it and see their name on it once, and my name on it twice :) I also saved my 1st place plaque from the 1990 National Jigsaw Puzzle Championships. As far as I know, they have not held the competition since (it was held throughout the 80's), so I guess I'm still the reigning junior national champion! I still have the puzzle I won with, which I completed in 12 minutes and 3 seconds... and after Lauren asked if I could still do it that fast, I completed it this afternoon in 8 minutes and 36 seconds - take that 11-year old me! Anyways, I've clearly digressed - I kept that one, because of all the trophies I have, that's the one I'm most proud of, and am more than proud to display it in my house to this day.

The last thing I parted with was an interesting one. Back in high school I went through a 1-1/2 year stretch that involved a lot of time in hospitals and three brain surgeries after I fractured my skull and did some damage to the membrane around my brain. I kept everything I could from this time period - hospital bracelets, the staples that were removed from the roughly foot long scar that runs from ear to ear across the top of my head, the tweezers and scissors used for sutures, drainage tubing that ran out of my head for a few days after surgeries, and a 4-5 inch long spinal tap needle that I had inserted into my back 8-9 times before it was left in me for a 24-hour period to drain fluid in the hopes that I would heal myself and not need surgery. Crazy stuff - but I always felt inclined to hold onto it. When I laid eyes on that box today, though, I had different feelings about it. I finally realized why I had kept all that stuff. For a significant portion of my teenage and young adult years, I felt like that time period defined me. I felt like it was those events that made me special, and I hung onto that stuff because it was something that made me different than anyone else, and also because there was a part of me that felt like I had done something special by going through all it. And don't get me wrong - it was hell. I still am proud of myself for going through all that I went through, and I know I have a story that is different from most everyone out there. But I don't need that part of my life to define me any more. If I really want to remember those days, I can look at the scar across the top of my head, or the 5 or so other scars on my body from these surgeries.  But now, rather than viewing my life as defined by those events, I can look at myself and see myself as a humorous, intelligent, loving individual who has accomplished a lot in my life, and is excited to accomplish even more as time goes on. I have a truly amazing wife, who to this day I look at and can't believe how much I love (and also can't believe she loves me - but it's too late for her, she's trapped now!). I have two children that I feel lucky to have every day, who have ways of making me happy no matter how bad of a day I've had. I've got amazing friends who I love (and miss, since I rarely see many of you due to distance and life situations) dearly. While that year and a half of my life will always be a significant part of my life, that shaped who I am today, I'm ready to let it go and have it be just that - a part of my life that happened, as opposed to the part of my life that defined me. So out the contents of that container went, and on we go with our lives. And I, for one, am very excited.