Happy Stumbling

Whenever my husband is tearing the house apart looking for something, I always tell him it will turn up when he's looking for something else.

My going-away card, designed by Randall.

This was the case for me this week when I was searching for a copy of a letter from my grandmother to my mom. I didn't find it, but I did find a ton of old stuff from my pre-mom era. A going-away card from my last day at Kay Jewelers in Alexandria. Postcards and letters from Julie & Brook's trip around the world. A transcript of my grades from high school. Writing samples and school papers and projects. Various minor awards, including the one from an Advertising Age contest and an honorable mention from The National League of American Pen Women (that's a whole other story).

And much, much, more.

This rainy day will be perfect for plunging myself into the past, trying to associate faces with the names on cards signed by everyone in the office. Glimpses of life 30 years ago from people my age, their futures all ahead of them then. I wonder where life took them, if they are happy with their lot, if they ever look back and see me.

Postcard from Greece

One more share before I toodle off to re-explore my past. I was in Parmatown Mall, and there was a bespectacled gentleman with a huge computer and punch cards. For a small fee, he said he would analyze my handwriting. Skeptical but intrigued, I agreed to give it a try. I signed my name on a card that was fed through the behemoth, which spit out a sheet of computer paper. Here's what it said:

YOU HAVE A VIVID IMAGINATION AND SHOULD PURSUE A WRITING CAREER. WITH YOUR HIGHLY RECEPTIVE LOGICAL MIND, YOU ARE RARELY FOOLED BY OTHERS. YOU HAVE A KIND, GENTLE HEART AND ARE EXTREMELY KID TO ANIMALS. IN LOVE RELATIONSHIPS YOU CAN BE VERY EMOTIONAL AND HIGHLY PASSIONATE. YOU NEVER HOLD A GRUDGE AND ARE THE FIRST TO ADMIT YOUR MISTAKES.

Honestly, I don't think Siri could have done any better!

But I still haven't found the letter I was looking for in the first place. I guess I will have to think of something else to search for.

Now, where did I leave my coffee cup...

P.S. Here is what Julie wrote on the back of the postcard (above): We wanted to send this "Greek God" to you in person but unfortunately, he is too buy posing for pictures.