I’ve always had a deep fear of forgetting. It’s never been about leaving my keys in the car or getting to the grocery store and not knowing why I went in the first place. It’s not even about studying for weeks for an exam and then having everything fall out of my head as I sit down at my desk. It’s about those 4 a.m. heart-to-hearts with my best friend, when I get home as the sun is rising and I crawl into bed feeling like my life is finally changing for the better. It’s about those early mornings with the love of my life, when the sunlight is kissing his face and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I’m the one who gets to trace my fingers along his cheek and look at him one last time before I drift back to sleep. It’s about those warm summer nights with my closest friends, when we set off fireworks and sit around campfires and I look around at the people I’ve chosen to surround myself with and my heart swells with gratitude. I can’t bear the thought of forgetting moments, people, places that once meant the world to me. It’s why I used to write in my journal so often and why I’m trying to do so again. And it’s why I’ve always loved taking pictures.
Adam and I have been together for two years (as of this Saturday, actually!) and it has been a complete whirlwind of an experience. I have never been happier alongside another human being, never had someone who understood me so completely and cared for me so deeply. At a time in my life when I’m uncertain of so many different aspects of my future, I feel an incredible amount of comfort knowing that I can count on him being a part of it. I never want to forget a moment of our time together; everything from backyard camping to nights we did nothing but play our Nintendo DS’s mean the world to me. When we first started dating, we decided we would always go on adventures together and that we would keep books to document them (à la Up). I envision our future home with numerous bookshelves, at least a shelf or two dedicated to keeping our adventure books tucked inside them. We have two completed ones so far, containing things like photos, ticket stubs, and notes written to one another. There are so many opportunities to be creative and try new things: we used a sketchbook for our first adventure book, Adam made our Vietnam one, and we’re using a binder and inserts for our third. Although we occasionally fall behind on keeping them updated, they’ve been wonderful to have and to look back on. I thought I would share them in an effort to inspire those of you who have a similar appetite for memory-keeping!
I love that we’ll always have our adventure books to remind us of all the things that, no matter how small, brought us together and made us who we are. I hope this sparks a little bit of creative memory-keeping in some of you today! Happy Wednesday, everyone!
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Streamers of Stardust 