30 Week Picture Challenege - Week 7

A picture of your most treasured item

Ok this one was hard.  How do I choose between my teddy bear, my rose charm, or even my transplant pillow?  I have too many prized possessions, all with different meanings of course.

I chose my dog tags because, let's face it, they are me.  No one remembers me without the dog tags.  Everyone remembers me by jingling up and down the hallway or clanging through the house with them on.  I've been wearing them  for about 12 years now and I even wonder when I will finally retire them.

I remember when my uncle came home on leave from the Marines and he said he had a surprise for me.  Being only 11 years old, my first thought was "Oo a new beanie baby?!"  But when the family got together later he handed me a ball chain necklace with two dog tags on it.  They were both his, duplicates.  He told me they were his tags and that they were very special to him and then told me he would even get in trouble if he went back to base without them (and because of that I spent the next month thinking he was going to get in trouble for giving me his tags).  They were supposed to help me through the tough medical treatments I was about to go through.  For strength and for encouragment.

Not long after that my dad saw me wearing this chain of dog tags around my neck and gave me his dog tag from when he was in the Navy.  Then my stepdad gave me his from when he was in the Army.  I was getting quite the collection here.  When I saw my other uncle again after he came home on leave he was surprised I still wore my tags everywhere.  He then offered me his tags to add on and eventually gave me his Marine ring also (big Wow on my part).  My last addition was when my cousin came home from the army on leave and gave me his tag to add.  I now have 2 Marines, 2 Army men and 1 Navy man.  No Air Force yet :-(

So I've worn these tags constantly for all these years.  I wore them in class pictures, to class events (except for prom...unless I had my way...), job interviews and I'll be damned if I didn't wear them at my wedding also.

As silly as it may/may not sound, I feel kind of honored that people would bestow something so personal as their military tags (and a very expensive ring) to me to wear and carry around with me.  I almost wait for the day when they ask for them all back to pass on to someone more important in the family because I can't help but repeat the phrase "Who am I to hold onto these?"

So I've built my image on these clanky metal things.  They've helped me throguh hard times, through many jokes, and even a graphics class assignment (ask me about The Jangler horror movie idea lol).  The chain has broken once or twice and the tags get tangled.  A lot.  They are definetly one of my most prized possessions and one that will need to be put away soon.

But maybe not just yet...