Love is... -Time Capsule 2009

Dear Reader,
I am writing this entry at midnight San Diego time, 3am New York time. I have not slept for 43 hours. Things have been a whirlwind of events, but surprisingly I am not that tired. Thursday morning I woke up at 8am to babysit, then grabbed dinner with Julia and Brian, cleaned Alice and dropped her off with Sebastiano, had a margarita with Liz and Brycie, and came home to pack and clean. I hate coming home from vacation to a messy apartment . I should leave the house by 4:30am, so I decided to stay up until then. I had things to do and my energy was running high, I thought, sure I can make it until 4am, no problem. Stupid me, not realizing that “making it until 4am" also meant making it through the whole next day.

Fast forward to arriving in California. My mom picked me up, it was a little overcast which was disappointing, but we grabbed some sandwiches and headed to her brand new apartment downtown. It is GORGEOUS. I seriously can’t believe my eyes. It is so classy and huge and beautiful and overlooks downtown and the bay. I’m really proud of my mom. It’s amazing how different a person’s “style” can be without the necessities of children or men. Anyway, quickly off to the hairdresser for a cut! Since the divorce, my mom has found friends all over the place. She’s got a close group of girlfriends that all live downtown and they hang out, and she has surrogate daughters all over the place. Young girls that realize how cool she is and are close with her. Meschelle was one of them, she introduced me as “my sister!” and knew everything about me. It was a party. Literally, I had to keep my wine glass from getting bang trimmings in it.
With half an hour to spare, Mom and I did a quick shopping trip and got a dress for Rachel’s wedding. You’ll see pictures later… at the wedding. Then I was dropped off at my Dad’s office for beer and wii with his work buddies. Tennis is hit or miss, but I always kick his ass at bowling and boxing. Then we all met up at my godparents house, Nancy and Ike, for some steak, and the biggest, most sentimental surprise of my life:

21 years, 2 months, and 18 days ago, I was born. 20 years ago, 8 months and 18 days ago, Nancy, with the help of my mom, collected some important “artifacts” from 1988, and my life as a baby thus far (6months old), and wrapped them up and put them in a box, sealed tight with the instructions, DO NOT OPEN UNTIL APRIL 2nd 2009. Tonight, after dinner, the first time being together with everyone since I turned 21, I was made aware of that box for the first time.

Now, I have not seen baby relics. My parents don’t have old toys or clothes or any tangible sentimental objects or recordings of what I was like as a baby, so this was truly a surprise. I grew up an only child of four parents, and the love that they all gave me poured out of the cardboard vessel and flooded the room and our eyes. Having “grown up” and graduated college and living life out in the Big Apple, it is so nice to feel like a child again, and feel the connection with your parents as parents and no longer people. For a night I was able to see them remember me as I was 21 years ago, and see how much they love me and have enjoyed watching me grow, and see them relive a past that I am the center of, yet also completely removed from memory.

Contents: (In order of opening)

• One cassette tape. “Lisha Tape: Oct ’88 Side 1”
* We had to figure out if we still had a cassette player anywhere…

• One Birth Announcement
* Printed at home by Dad on a really old computer, it has a line design of a hangglider with my baby face in the pilots seat – “Just Launched!” What dorks.
Model: Lisha Corinne Brown
Launch Window: Saturday April 2, 1988, 7:09am (PST)
Hook-In Weight: 7lbs 8oz
Span: 20.5 inches
Ground Crew: Jeff and Joy Brown

• One set of baby pajamas.
* This is where we all lost it and the crying didn’t stop anytime soon. The one piece is so so small. It is really hard to believe I was ever that tiny.


• 13 Little Lisha photograps
*YES! I had a Mohawk! Obligatory naked on a blanket shot, sleeping,yawning, etc. My parents look soooo pretty and happy. Then there’s my favorite where my dad’s foot is the length of my entire body (he’s 6’6”…big feet, but still).
I think I should submit this one to Awkward Family Photos.com
Am I the only one who thinks that my dad looks like Geoff from Ace of Cakes?


• One $50 Savings Bond


• One – “A Not Very Typical Day in the Life of Lisha Corinne Brown, October 2nd, 1988, Her 6th Month Birthday
* Mom and Nancy recorded everything I did at time intervals. On my 6th month birthday, we all went hanggliding. 1:45 Started to chase dad….driving….driving….driving…. we got a kick out of that one. As I was reading it my dad was getting excited, thinking he might have had a long flight that day. Sure enough after many hours of driving, 5:45 – found Dad in Palm Springs. WOOHOO!!! SKY GOD!!! 6:15 – stopped to eat at Wendys. Lol. 9:50 – played on the floor in the family room while Mom and dad watched the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics. Way to go 1988.

• One copy of Olympics edition Sports Illustrated

• One Copy of the San Diego Union Tribune form Oct 2nd.

• One cement cast of my foot, amaturely done by Nancy in a margarine container.


• One bottle of 1983 Cabernet Savignon. Will NOT be drinking that :-P.

We found a cassette player and we able to play the tape. It was Nancy talking about all the different experiences I’ve had and what it was like these past 6 months and what they hope for me. Then a recording of the Joan Baez song, “Forever Young.” I have never been so touched in my life. Following the song was a good 30 minutes of Nancy recording me crying hahaha, and then the radio’s top 10 of the week.
What a night. It’s truly incredible to know how much your family loves you. Irreplaceable.