greetings from my cooler

Often purchased on vacation, a souvenir guarantees a memory of a time. The time you were away from what you experience as home. So you take such a souvenir back home with you, meaning a memory returns with you in physical form. Sometimes souvenirs are gifts to the people you left behind for your adventure, and so you give them a piece of your memory. But what can such a souvenir guarantee when someone wasn't physically there? And what remains when you're no longer present in that place? Seeing such a souvenir again is almost like a diorama. Look at it, and quick flashbacks will arise to moments you spent with the person who gave it to you, or moments you experienced at that location. The people and events we experience with them are a huge factor in the transformation of the souvenir. But the souvenir has a place in your home. On your refrigerator, your nightstand, in your cutlery drawer. They're everywhere in your personal space, and their physical appearance far exceeds their functionality.