Milestones & gravestones
Most days come and go without incident. You get up and go about your day. Things happen. Some stick with you a while, some don't, but nothing makes a lasting impression. And then there are days - & dates - that you know will stick with you for the rest of your life. June 29th is one of those dates for me. June 29th 2001 is one of those days specifically. Who am I kidding with my 'one of'? This is the date, the one that's burned into my brain more deeply than any other. Some years it kind of creeps up on me. Last year was one of those years. I was working and I went to put a date on a letter. June 29th. Holy fuck, I'd forgotten. It's that day. And it all came flooding back. I remember that day so well. I remember the week well. Hell I remember the month. It was as formative a time in my life as any other, filled with milestones. I finished school on my 17th birthday, May 21st, and pushed on into my leaving cert in June. I finished with my hi...