I was going out last night, and since it was cold I grabbed a jacket which I had not worn since early spring. As I put my keys in one of the pockets, I found a half eaten pack of Mentos. My first thought was to throw them away but then I smiled, remembering when and why I had bought them.
I was going to meet some friends for dinner that night, now several months back, and a night I had not thought of since. We just had drinks, then dinner, then talked for a time and went our separate ways – nothing even worth mentioning to anyone who might ask how the weekend was, but it was just a great night. My friend Mark, who is the friendliest guy you could ever imagine, his wife Nancy, and another friend also named Mark who’s an interesting character. We three men must have bored Nancy to tears talking about our day on the golf course but she is much too sweet to do anything but smile and join right in our laughter. Were I to write our conversation here it might bore others also. It was just…nice. We all four care a lot for each other and it shows in our words and actions when we get together. Questions flowed aimed on catching up on one another’s lives, and with genuine interest rather than idle chitchat. We made each other laugh, think, and much later in going home than planed. I can’t remember a tense moment or disagreement despite the usual playful ribbing friends do, which we all take as a wonderful compliment, knowing the source and intention.
And so I stood there, running my fingers across the Mentos wrapper and smiling as my outlook on the entire week changed. Sometimes we get into a bad habit of remembering only the bad stressors over a period of time, yet if we only think back, life is pretty good.
I have a collection of ticket stubs, receipts, and other small scraps of paper, documenting the significant events and interesting places I have been – The St. Louis Arch, CNN Tower, several Aerosmith concerts, Broadway shows, and football games to name a few. I’ve always intended on putting them in a glass frame and hanging it or maybe placing them under the glass top of a coffee table. I threw away the candy and the Mentos wrapper will go there as well.
Tim
