And the king said, ‘I shall never, never, forget.’
‘You will though,’ said the Queen, ‘if you don’t make a memorandum of it.’
—Lewis Carroll
We collect souvenirs so that we will not forget special people and places. Sometimes the memories that return when we see or touch a momento are more wondrous and inspiring than the actual experience. Often our favorite souvenirs are the simplest ones: a Christmas tree ornament, a shell, or a postcard. Our photo albums are important to us because we collect our most wonderful memories in them. We have souvenirs in our desk drawers at school that go back many years. Discovering one school souvenir buried beneath paper clips and rubber bands can bring back a flood of memories of special days, special students, and special activities. What are your favorite school souvenirs? Have you given your students a souvenir so that they will remember the year when you were their teacher? What souvenir could you give your students this year that would be a good reminder of the time that you had together?
One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are most beautiful if they are a few.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh
This post appeared in A Moment of Peace & Quiet: Meditations for Teachers by Gail G. Mesplay.
