Calvin & Hobbes, 26 Years Later.

Today is the last day of April. June is the 2 year anniversary of me starting a blog! I started out with a dream and hint of whimsy, delving deep into my internal memory of funny, to find random, often strange things to write about.

Today, I had to post this comic: (I believe you can click it to get a bigger view, or use the link below it!)

http://www.geekfill.com/2011/11/14/26-years-later%E2%80%A6/

Calvin and Hobbes was one of my very favorite comics as a kid, next to Zits and Dilbert. Looking at this comic, it somehow transports me back to being 7 years old, with a thick anthology of this comic strip, reading about the adventures of a towheaded boy and his stuffed tiger, his shenanigans, all his mischief. 

And I like to think that I was much like that little boy. Fearless, adventurous, a bit sneaky, funny, lovable, with a best friend to get into trouble with. 

I'd like to think I am still like that little boy, only a more grown up version, who is also responsible enough to pay her bills and not just jump in mud puddles and hide in my transmogrifier.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. 

Time heals most wounds and also blurs the edges of particularly painful or difficult memories. A perfect example of this is when you break up with a significant other. At first, you can still be mad or sad, and remember every word of every fight, and think again and again of what you SHOULD HAVE said, and how things could have been different. But, after a few months, maybe you still miss that person. And things are remembered a little differently. You start to think of all the good times, and the laughter, and stop remembering the pain, as the good parts start to outweigh the bad in your memories.

It's why I have always tried to live by the rule of no re-dating. You broke up for good reasons, so unless one or both of you have changed significantly, those reasons likely still exist. It's not an ironclad rule, as like I said, sometimes people or situations do change, but it's a good thing to keep in mind.

Nostalgia is taking out the old and dusting it off to look almost like new again, but not quite, and remembering how great things used to be. 

After all, doesn't everyone seem to think fondly of "the good old days," when kids weren't as stupid and minded their manners, when parents weren't as lame, and when gas still cost under a dollar?

Nothing wrong with nostalgia, that's for sure. Hey, better to remember fondly and smile one of those somewhat sad, mostly happy smiles with the far-away gaze we get when we're remembering something beautiful, than to only look back with anger and sadness. You certainly can't live a full life carrying that around forever, as it will eventually and surely break you down to nothing. 

So, today, look back on those days of hanging out with Teddy (or Hobbes!), who was the very best listener, the greatest adventure-sharer, and the one who helped you fall asleep. Remember Teddy! And someday, maybe we'll all have those rascally kids who have a Hobbes of their own to love and imagine and go on adventures with. And when that happens, we once again get to pull out those old memories, dust them off, and play with them again for awhile.