May 18

I did a little bit of shopping today; nothing glam since just about everything is still closed 'round these parts -- just Walmart and Target. And then I went by the other house to try to make a little progress with the clean-up and clean-out process, and was surprised when I came across this:

It's my high school class ring. It was tucked inside an old jewelry box I hadn't opened in ages, and I was shocked to see it since I'd given it up for lost about 15 years ago.

I slipped it onto my finger and was gratified to find that it still fits. I've certainly changed a lot since high school and goodness knows that those were far from the best days of my life, but I was still happy to see it again because the good memories I do have? Those are the ones that flickered through my mind as I slowly spun it around the base of my finger: endless rounds of Capitalism on Cowboy John's bus #925, evening rides along quiet country back roads, late Friday nights getting Silver Chips (the high school newspaper that I co-edited with the amazingly level-headed Anya our senior year) ready to go to press.

No, not all of the days were good and some were just plain bad and hard. But today, I'm thankful that my ring triggered thoughts of the best ones.