Artifacts of the Old Life

Special thanks to Google Gemini, for creating today’s topic

Find one physical object you still own from the “before” times. Write about why it hasn’t been purged yet, and whether it’s a tether to the past or a trophy of how far you’ve come.

This is an interesting topic, and one I think about on an almost daily basis. But instead of talking about just one artifact, I’m going to talk about three.

My personalized Louisville Slugger

The first is my personalized Louisville Slugger baseball bat. I actually wrote a post about this very item just over two years ago.

My personalized Louisville Slugger baseball bat

I don’t really think of it as a trophy of how far I’ve come. If anything, it’s a tether to the past. But to be honest, it’s also just a really cool gift that I happen to like, regardless of who it came from. Some things are just objectively cool, and my love for the game outlasts the history of the gift-giver.

The black zip-up hoodie

Then there’s the black zip-up hoodie I wear pretty much all the time. It’s a holdover from my relationship with Jessica—a promotional item from her family’s company with their logo over the right breast.

It’s the ultimate “Goldilocks” piece of clothing: not too hot, not too cold. It’s just right. The irony is that I almost never wore it when we were together. It sat in my car for weeks after the split until one day I was chilly, grabbed it, and realized how comfortable it was.

I’ve reclaimed it. At one point, I thought about putting black tape over the logo, but I realized that doing so would be a public acknowledgment that their family business actually bothered me. By wearing it “as is,” I’ve stripped the logo of its power. It’s not a statement anymore; it’s just a practical solution for a drafty room. It’s starting to fray at the cuffs, and I might replace it eventually “on principle,” but for now, comfort wins.

Another bat from another ex

Finally, because things usually come in threes, there is a second Louisville Slugger. This one came from X2. The odd thing is, I didn’t get it while we were together, nor was it a Father’s Day gift.

Last year, X2 and Kid 2 went on a road trip to Kentucky and visited the Louisville Slugger factory. I’m still a little jealous I haven’t been there myself—it’s essentially the “Holy Land” of baseball history, right up there with the Hall of Fame. When they returned to Winnipeg, X2 gave me the bat, saying, “We got you something.”

It was an unexpected, kind gesture. Maybe, in some weird way, the bat from X1 is the anchor to the past, and the newer one from X2 is a reminder of the “extra innings” I’m living now. As George Lucas would say: “It’s like poetry. It rhymes.”

Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Whether I’m 900 days into a streak or reflecting on the decade of posts that led me here, the mission remains the same. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint behind the rebuild.

Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road to 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE .

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AI art created by Google Gemini

The article “Artifacts of the Old Life” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.