Today is a special day, it's the day my daddy was born. I went through photographs and posted some from his childhood up to some of more recent ones. There were a couple I took of him at the beach this year that just made me smile. It's as if you can hear his laughter in the picture. I can remember the moment of watching him playing on the beach with my boys and one photograph is capable of capturing so much more than we realize. There was the picture of my parents kissing and Elliott covering his eyes as if to say "ewwww they are kissing" as his fingers haphazardly covered his eyes with his fingers spreading just enough that he could peer between them and still see them kissing. This is what I am determined to focus on...just like Elliott was peering through his fingers, he didn't want to miss one single moment...even if he was saying "ewwww" and giggling the entire time.
I have taken an insurmountable amount of pictures, film, digital and on video. It is a daunting task but one that I am throwing myself into until I get it done. These pictures, these moments...some filed in a folder on my computer and on my external hard drive; some in boxes, some tucked in files of years that have been waiting to be put in albums. I have put the project off long enough. It wasn't until one of Jonathan's distant relative had passed away and we inherited a box of nostalgia that I realized more than ever how important it was to do this. His Great Uncle Bob and Great Aunt Alva had a scrapbook of their lives before they were married, bridal showers cards and gifts, mementos of their wedding, letters and pictures...priceless moments. Each one documented and displayed, then stored away, who knows when it was last looked at....and there were a few albums of old pictures, with writings under each one, telling a story of what was going on. It was his story, her story, their story..and it was beautiful to turn each page and watch it unfold. Then there were a few boxes of pictures, no rhyme or reason, some with no story to tell....just all kept together in a shoe box or envelope as if that held the memories they entailed. There were letters to fellow soldiers, and files of events that he had experienced in World War II. Those were filed in a filing folder and neatly kept together, the folder worn from repeated use and additional storage that it seemed to undertake with each new letter. There were pictures that we'd look at and wonder what was the story behind this picture...what were they feeling, what had just happened...and sometimes wondering where were they taken. I knew at this moment, I could no longer put off getting all the pictures I could into albums..in some sort of order, marking as many dates, or ages of the boys as I could. I plan to include little snippets or notes of what was going on, to help tell the story or what was going on so that when future generations get a box of nostalgia hopefully they will appreciate them as much as we did when we found the old scrapbook and marked photo album.
It is something to focus on...something to seek. When we look back on old pictures, old memories...what do we see, what do we choose to focus on and hold onto? How do we want to leave it for our future generations, what stories do we want to pass on and keep alive? Because too often the elders pass away all to quickly and with them vast stories and memories that were attached to their pictures go with them. And what is left is a shoe box filled with scattered pictures held together with a rubberband that contains priceless treasured memories...and you cannot unlock the them if you do not have the key. I want to get my photos and home movies in order, I want to leave a key behind. I want my boys and future grandchildren and great grandchildren to have that key to unlock the memories and cherish the stories that have been passed down for generations. I hope they will treasure them as much I do and that they realize that they are so much more than just picture album....they are moments in time, they unlock memories and tell a story with each turn of their page....their story comes to life. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words....to me they are worth even more.
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