Lift the lid, there may be treasure inside

Time capsules are hidden around my house disguised as boxes of personal treasures, a hope chest of forgotten contents, and journals full of thoughts, feelings, and angst of a girl between the ages of 14 and 21.  One such trove of personal treasure is a small, lidded porcelain box my sister, the pesky one, gave me when I was very young.  It wasn’t something a little girl would typically want, but I guess she understood I was not a typical little girl.   

There is nothing extraordinary about the box, and it was not new when she gave it to me.  I kept it on my dresser when I still lived in my parents’ house and I used it as a depository for things I found here and there and felt needed to be kept safe. Somehow I've managed to keep the box intact and with me all of these years. 

I noticed it in my book cabinet when I was putting Christmas decorations away a few days ago.  I see it every time I open the book cabinet, but I can't even remember the last time I looked insided.  Curiosity got the best of me so I removed the scalloped lid with the three chipped, pink roses and took inventory.

•          Two plastic rosaries, one glow-in-dark white, and the other white                   with seed pearl beads
•          Four bottle caps, one Barq’s root beer and three RC Cola, all with cork       linings
•          One pearl souvenir charm bracelet with the letters spelling out San              Francisco, each letter dotted with a rhinestone
•          One gold charm bracelet with three silhouette charms of boys’ heads          and a cowboy boot charm dotted with a turquoise stone
•          One miniature two-dollar bill
•          Various coins of foreign currencies
•          Several pennies flattened on railroad tracks
•          One commemorative Bicentennial silver dollar, worth one dollar
•          Several wheat pennies, worth several cents
•          One crystal of unknown origin
•          Two glass marbles
•          One 25 cent postage stamp
•          Two unmatched earrings I am sure did not belong to me
•          A chipped piece from one of the roses on the box's lid
•          One rust colored molded plastic ring in the shape of an owl’s                        head

Most of these items make no sense to me whatsoever.  I understand the rosaries and the coins; I always stash away old or unusual coins.  But the things that puzzle me the most are the gold charm bracelet which obviously belonged to a mother of three boys, and the plastic ring.  

I have no recollection of how or why these treasures made it into the box, nor do I understand why I’ve kept them all these years.  Nevertheless, there is a certain sense of security in knowing they remain safe under the pink chipped roses.

I’ve decided to open all of my time capsules, one at a time, and take inventory of my life.  Maybe the treasures hidden within will penetrate the cobwebs of my memory and reveal something to me I thought I’d lost.   I don't know what that may be, but I’m sure I’ll know it when I see it.  Or read it.