A Picture is Worth...

Pictures of who they used to be--

Did they realize who and what they would become?

 Did they want to become who they are now? 

Raised upon vanity. 

Snapshots of how things used to be.

 Those people in the pictures, bare a different struggle then they do now;

 A struggle which might, otherwise, have been forgotten. 

But now, the happiest- perhaps feigned- moment is preserved; 

For all to see. 

For all to envy. 

For all to remember.

    If every picture was captioned by both, the person in the picture, and the person who took the picture... 

What might such insight reveal? 

In one case, the photographer might've insisted on taking such a snapshot;

In another, one might've begged a stranger to help them preserve a moment in time--

 A moment, in which, is soon contaminated by two little words:

 "Say Cheese".

Disappointing Mentos

            A summer of disappointment. Not really, but that is what is has it has been dubbed. Reunited with my other half, My cousin and I were determined to make the best of our short amount of time together. So focused on everything going according to plan- anything that fell short or that got in our way or wasted our precious time together in general, was labeled after the first shortcoming- the Mentos.

The Mentos were a spur-of-the-moment purchase in a Wal-Mart check-out line. I had first purchased some before boarding the airplane and was so impressed by the strawberry flavor, that I had share the experience. We were feeling slightly deprived after leaving a gluten-intolerant relative’s house and we decided to splurge. Our very own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory moment… Together we tore open the cylinder of wrapped candy and to our dismay there was only one pink candy in the whole lot!

 It almost became a lottery to us. We would each take turns buying the aluminum wrapped cylinders only to find that it followed a disappointing trend. Now, whenever something odd came up, we knew the source of abnormality had to have something to do with the pink candy conspiracy.

Our summer was obviously not really disappointing by any means. In fact, it really should be titled ‘A summer of independence’ as it was the first summer in which my cousin had her driver’s license. Our first summer together that we could be free. Well as free as a freshman and junior in high school can be… Relatively free. Without such freedom, there would’ve been no Mentos, or more importantly, no room for our proclaimed disappointment.

Inevitable Process

Packed green minivan and an empty brick house with a green door. Empty. Aside from teddy bear picnics and flower fairies which occupy rooms. Rooms filled with playtime and timeout memories alike. Heartbreaking farewells. “Hug me tight Muv, I don’t know when I’ll get to see you again. I don’t know about this California and I’m a little afraid.”

On the road, off to my new home.

Years later, I return to the brick house with the green door. Only this wasn’t the same house. The familiar screeching sound of a play set was gone. Along with the red-fruited plants I recall my mother pruning and sending my sister and me off to pick.

But the most impacting change… The once colorful and detailed friends of my childhood were painted over. White. Blank. My sister’s fairies left as well. I suppose they got lonely and decided to go find a new child to care for. I miss them. But I know now that it would’ve been impossible for me to stay with them forever. My inevitable departure merely sped up the process. The process of their loneliness and my growing up.