Cicada Time Capsule

 2004 Flashback

It’s 2004 and the cicadas come. I’m a stay-at-home mom in Virginia with my husband Paul and two children. Jack is almost five and Katherine is three. I fill a scrapbook with pictures of our family—the doting grandparents, grinning cousins, and, of course, Uncle Bobby’s dog Bear. I think I will remember these preschool days so clearly.

On this Saturday afternoon in May, the cicadas are a source of wonder. Bear is stretched out on the patio, and when a cicada lands close enough, he paws at it and eats it. Jack and Katherine pull empty shells off the tree bark, collecting them in a pile as Paul and I plant perennials. Katherine drops her finger to the dirt, guiding a cicada to crawl up her arm and Jack shouts excitedly when one alights on his shirt.

In the evening, we sit on the patio, listening to the insects’ high-pitched songs as Uncle Bobby gives Jack and Katherine wheelbarrow rides. For a few weeks, the vibrating tymbals of the cicadas overtake the sounds of the neighborhood playdates, birthday celebrations, and playground adventures that define 2004.

Later that year, I’ll add more snapshots to the scrapbook. Here’s Katherine in her pink leotard and tights smiling at a preschool dance recital. There’s Paul, crouched down to tell a story to a group of captivated five-year-olds at Jack’s Spiderman-themed party. Here’s Jack on the first day of kindergarten climbing on the school bus. There we are in our coordinating Wizard of Oz Halloween costumes. Do you see me? I am the Tin Man, wearing a cardboard box spray-painted silver with a funnel on my head.

2021 Snapshot

In the blink of an eye, 17 years pass. The Brood X periodical cicadas emerge again as pandemic restrictions lift. We’re wrapping up a school year full of pivots, quarantines, virtual learning, and concurrent instruction. As we turn the page to May, 2021, Jack is graduating from college, Katherine is finishing her sophomore year and heading to Italy to study abroad, and I am an ESL teacher at a local elementary school. Paul now has the flexibility to work from home as a consultant for a health care association.

Again, it feels like the events of this year will be seared into our memories for eternity. However, as I look back at those days from 2004, I realize how much I’ve forgotten about that time in my life. What was going well? What was a struggle? My memories about those early parenting years are now muddled and somewhat subjective. This year, in addition to pictures, I’m recording some additional information about my life in 2021. I plan to put the collection together in an envelope to be opened when Brood X returns in 2038—a Cicada Time Capsule.  

Cicada Time Capsule

Creating a time capsule is an opportunity to preserve moments from this specific time in my life. I’ll start with the basics: the car I drive, favorite music, hobbies and interests. I’ll list current events, as well as technology and communication trends. (Who knows, maybe we’ll all be paying with bitcoins by 2038!) Finally, I’ll reflect on the successes and challenges in my current phase of life.

While some days may seem never-ending, the years pass quickly. Before you know it, your ballerina is dancing off to Italy, Spiderman is a young adult starting his first job, and the cicadas are emerging once again.