What's On Your Fridge?

 Sunday, June 12/22

Yes, you read the blog entry title correctly, not what's in your fridge but rather what's on your fridge.

Now I'm sure you're sitting there asking yourself what triggered me to ask this specific question and it's really pretty simple as  I was sitting on my couch earlier and happened to look over at the fridge and was kind of surprised at the history the exterior of my fridge would tell anyone who takes but a moment to really look hard at it.

My place is sort of an open concept and it was one of the biggest selling points when I made my decision to make an offer. You can stand in the kitchen and with a glance to your left see the combined living room and dining room, conversely, I can sit on the couch and watch TV, read, listen to music, and look into the kitchen without much movement on my part.

As I mentioned, I was sitting on the couch and happened to glance over at the fridge and it dawned on me how much of my life was on display, my past, my present, and my future in plain sight for all to see. I can see reminders of positive events from my life as well as those that might be a little bit bittersweet depending on my mood at the time.

My past is represented by pictures of my kids as they were growing up, marking special moments in each of their lives, and pictures of my grandkids when each was under a year old. Moments that have come and gone but still make me smile when I look at them when opening or closing the fridge or just walking by on my way in or out of the kitchen. I've also got some artwork and school work done by my oldest grandson that acts as a past and present reminder as one is older than the other.

The funniest thing is that I've got a picture of my son when he is about 6 months and one of both my grandsons, his nephew, and his own son, and I'm constantly amazed at the traits all three share with one another.

My presence and future are both encompassed on the calendar I keep on the fridge that shows me what is on my agenda for the day as well as future plans. Thinks like golf tee times with friends, doctor or dental appointments, sporting events or other activities for my grandkids, appointments that I've agreed to take the grandkids to in order to help out my daughter or son, and future holidays I've booked off from work.

What about the months that are now in the past, what happens to those sheets from the calendar you might ask?  I keep those as they help me record recurring events when I create my new calendar in December.

So what else is on my fridge, what else makes me smile or maybe feel a bit sad when I see them?

I've got souvenir magnets from my kids from some of the places they visited when on vacations with their mom over the years. Two that make me smile include one from my son from a trip to Jamaica and the other is one from Venice brought back by my daughter.

Bittersweet would be the bottle opener I brought back from my vacation in Jamaica with Corinne as well as the magnets she gave me from her organization that is a daily reminder that there are those people who man the walls to ensure our freedom and safety. They are bittersweet in that they remind me of someone special who made a difference in my life when I probably needed it the most.

Some might say I should take those down to avoid being reminded of those memories since they won't be repeated but I disagree as that would sully the memory and feelings I have for her. Yes, I wrote in the present tense and not the past tense as I still have feelings for her. That doesn't mean anything would happen between us should we bump into one another but it also doesn't preclude anything happening either.

I'm one of those people who think what is on your fridge says more about you than what is in your fridge :)

So tell me, what's on your fridge and what story do you think it tells about you?

My name is Marcus and it has been hit or miss with the blog over the last year or so but I think I've turned the corner on things in my life and will be posting more entries moving forward. Hope you come back and see what other thoughts or observations I come up with over the next few weeks.

Tonight's musical suggestion is an instrumental piece by a German group named Meute called "Slow Loris". Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Questions, comments, and complaints can all be emailed to me at ooasm2018@gmail.com