It's the little things, really....

My in-laws are taking everyone on a cruise this year for Christmas. So it was finally time to update my passport with my married name (yes, 2 and a half years later). My passport was going to expire in March anyway, so it's not like I was out a ton of money.

Now, my passport is not full of colorful stamps from all over the world. The majority of them are from Canada. But there is my first one from England... I remember stumbling off the too long flight, just wanting to find a soft bed, and having to be coherent on my first journey through customs of another country. That trip was crazy. But it was a once in a lifetime thing, so I decided to do it. And the little stamp on my passport made me remember things I had forgotten.

There is also the stamp from Mexico that was for my honeymoon. I was also tired from that flight, but because the previous 2 months of my life were non-stop and this seemed like my first time to relax in ages.

So when it came time for me to mail in my passport, I was sad to say goodbye to those little stamps. I know that I still have the memories that come with them, but when I saw the crease in the front cover, it took me back to that trip in March of 1999. Every time I travelled, I thought about all those trips. But I mailed off my passport with the paperwork, new photos and the money (oh don't forget the money!) and decided I'd make new memories with my new passport.

Imagine my surprise last week, when I got an envelope back with my old passport in it. Now, it had holes punched in it, but the crease was still in the cover and my red Gatwick stamp was still there. And my brown-haired, 22 year old self was staring back at me. It was good to see her again.