Remember when?

I have a cookbook sitting on my counter. It is missing it's cover. I got the cookbook when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, I think. My bff, Paige, gave it to me. I leave it on my counter because it is a kid's cookbook and the boys like to make things out of it. There are yummy things in the book, like Peanut Butter Modeling Dough and Walking Salad. As I was grating cheese, I started thinking about that book. I could put it on the shelf with all the other cookbooks. The boys would still tell me when they wanted to make something from the book. I don't have much in the way of clutter in my house, and I don't like to leave stuff just sitting on the counter or the table, but that book has been in that same spot for about a year. I could put it on the shelf with the others, but I don't want to. You see, it isn't about convenience or ease or clutter or anything like that. It is purely about having happy memories and a happy childhood filled with great friends and family. I have known Paige since we were 4 years old and in preschool. We went to school from preschool all the way through our first year of college at HSU. She was in my wedding party. (I missed her wedding only because I was off serving a mission.) And, I am certain that even today, I could call her in the middle of the night anytime, if I really needed her. Paige's parents owned a store on Main Street in Ferndale when we were growing up. I spent many an afternoon in the back room of that store. We would watch T.V., eat snacks, play games, and just have fun. Eventually we got too old to hang out at the store, obviously. But, we still spent lots of time together with our friends, Jennifer, Deanna and Michael too. We had lots of fun times growing up in a small town. See, I could keep that cookbook on the shelf with my other cookbooks, but each time I look at it, I am reminded of my blessed life and how, in part, I grew to be what I am today.