Heirlooms that hurt

 AI generated depiction of memories on shards of glass (Image from Freepik)
AI generated depiction of memories on shards of glass (Image from Freepik)

Have you ever gazed at the magnificence of an enormous tree and wondered how something so great could come from a tiny seed? Perhaps, you have witnessed the miracle of a new baby being brought into the family and wondered how an entire human life could be created from two miniscule cells. Even those who have had the fortune of raising pets will never fail to be amazed by how small puppies and kittens can grow into large, healthy animals that scarcely resemble the little creatures that they used to be.

Yet, even greater than the surprise that lies in all of these observations, is the very strange sense of shock that we feel when we find our own childhood clothes, or pictures of ourselves as infants. We are struck by disbelief of how quickly so many years seem to have flown by, and how different we have become since the pictures were taken or since we used to wear those clothes.