Collecting Memories via Snow Globes

One Christmas back when I was in college, Ma gave me and Dorothy snow globes in our stockings. I got a blue jay and she got a cardinal. We took one look at each other, looked down at the snow globes, and traded. I was always a little obsessed with my cardinal globe. While working on papers in college, I would shake it up and watch the little snowflakes fall as I thought about my topics.

When my house burned down at the end of school, Sea Wee and I went in with the fireman the next day. The fire marshal hadn't inspected my apartment yet, so I wasn't supposed to take anything. But when I saw my little snow globe, I snatched it when the fireman wasn't looking and put it in my pocket. I cleaned it off and kept it safe. You can kind of see how bright the outer snow originally was if you look at the inner snow. This globe bears some scars of a rough day, but it survived--as did I.

After that, I started collecting globes. I got a huge one while I lived in Oregon, but I put it on top of my computer monitor and one day it fell off--smashing into a million watery pieces. I have sadly never had a chance to replace it. (Kira, if you're reading this, bring me a small one from the airport next time?)

I started truly collecting when I lived in Chicago. On the left, we have Dorothy slippers from Missouri; the right is from the Chicago aquarium:


Next we have a giraffe from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and the Adler Planetarium (also Chicago):


Ma got in on the act and brought me this SUPER UGLY one from Indiana. I'm secretly waiting for someone to bring me a pretty one from Indiana, so I can throw this one away. Then again, I probably never will because Ma bought it for me, so that makes it special (and we all know how attached I get to inanimate objects):


These three are from business trips I've taken: Minnesota, Tennessee, and Ohio:


These three are ones people have given me from their own trips: Ohio, New York, Louisiana:


Ma did MUCH better when she and Pa went to Yellowstone and to Devil's Tower:


For my recent trip to Iowa City, I decided to stop at the Amana colonies for a snow globe. I couldn't find any in Iowa City that didn't involve an obnoxious yellow statue of Herkie. So I went with my German heritage instead:


The largest is Chicago. I love this globe. After years of living there, I finally found the right one. It has all the pretty things from downtown:


Even though I live here, I still collect local globes. I have a nice tiger from the Omaha Zoo and a little farmhouse to represent the great state of Iowa:


To keep them safe from roaming kittehs (and to keep myself from looking like a maniac), I store them in a glass-doored bookshelf. When I walk past, I smile at them:


I can tell you exactly where I was when I got each globe. They all represent a specific moment in time--at least the ones I've collected myself. I love it when people bring me ones from other places. The globes I didn't gather on my own show that someone thought of me, which I love. Yes, I ask people to bring them back, but the fact that they remembered is what makes each one unique and important.

I hope to fill many more shelves in my lifetime--with my own memories and with the treasures of many friends. It's a simple way to collect life memories. I can only imagine what the collection will look like in 20 years...