It's interesting how we have a tendency to attach objects to our memories. The memory itself doesn't always seem to be enough; we also need the T-shirt or the key chain to remind us. And it can be hard to get rid of items like that.

I took my first trip to Europe a year and a half ago. I didn't have my blog yet, but I spent two and a half weeks backpacking around Ireland and the UK with Steph, one of my closest friends from college. It was one of the best experiences of my life. And I have this shirt I’ve always liked because it reminds me of those experiences.

It's not even a shirt I bought while on this trip. It's a basic green polo shirt I bought at Target right before my trip. There is nothing at all special about the shirt itself. But it's the shirt I wore in London when Steph and I had our picture taken in front of Big Ben. It's the shirt I wore in the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland when Steph and I took a bike ride to a beach a couple miles away from our hostel.

Really it's the shirt I wore for about half the trip, if not more (we packed light). And since then every time I wear it I feel a little happier. But after wearing it all through that trip and after, and considering it was a cheap polo from Target, you can imagine the state it is in now.

This past weekend I finally had to admit defeat. I was forced to concede that enough was enough and it was time to say goodbye to my Europe shirt. So off it went with the trash yesterday morning, never to be seen again.

And I know I have the memories, I have my other souvenirs and a ton of pictures, plus I have Steph. But I still feel a little bit sad about losing that shirt.