Memory Jar

Though many are tempted by post-holiday clearance sales, I have found that they are of little appeal to me.

I did, however, open my pocketbook as well as my mouth for this item that was half off at Sam's shortly after Christmas:

Originally priced at $20 and cut by half to a mere $9.98, and filled to the brim with assorted chocolates I quickly added it my bounty of groceries that day.

Though the chocolates themselves were nothing to write home about, they steadily disappeared over the course of the past few weeks when all three of my chocolate loving children were home for winter break.

We are now left with only a handful of chocolates and a mostly empty jar.

At the urging of my middle child, I have decided to use the empty vessel as a 'Memory Jar' for this year.

My plan is to fill it with bits and pieces throughout the year, then peruse the contents next New Year's Eve with my tribe and relive some of those tiny moments.

The first item going in is a ticket stub from my son's basketball game last week.

A win for our team and an evening when it became clear that my son, who currently stands at 5 feet 8 inches tall (for now), is no longer a little boy, but well on his way to being a young man.

And, as I sat next to my oldest daughter, who was still home from college for the holidays and had the good fortune of attending her brother's 7th grade basketball game, I realized that not so long ago, each of my three children were no bigger than that memory jar itself.

Don't be surprised if you see me walking around with my jar this year, cradled like a tiny baby in my arms.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney