Say Cheese!
I have decided to finally organize my box of pictures that has been holding my families memories and stories for the past 26 years.
I bought some photo albums and I began by simply sorting the photos in groups. My husband and I before we were married, wedding photos, piles for each child plus ones together. The groups were an assortment of surprise photos, birthday party, family vacation, holidays and the all important end of the roll pictures.
You know the ones, in our old cameras when we actually had to use film, we wanted to take it out of the camera to be processed at our local Photomart. There was always another 1 or 2 pictures yet to be used and for some reason every person I have ever known would always insist on using that available space for a picture opportunity.
Like my parents before me, I would point the camera at one or both of my children and take a picture of what they were doing at that exact moment. These always turned out to be fun to see after the film roll was developed.
I always had film in my camera and my camera always sat in the cupboard over my range. I could easily grab it if necessary. It was there to commemorate my children's birthday parties, Halloween costumes and jack-o-lanterns, sledding on the hill, school plays, the first lost tooth, you name it, I snapped it.
While sorting these pictures, I could close my eyes and rewind my memory to that exact time. I found pictures of my parents at Christmas with some of us kids in the background. It took me back to the sweet scent of pine, candy and new toys. With each picture, I was catapolted back in time. The smells were still as strong, I could feel the texture of the clothes I was wearing, I could sense the same emotions! There were graduation pictures, prom pictures, pictures of my brothers when they moved away from home, pictures of my husband and I at the beach, our engagement picure, crazy pictures from Niagra Falls when you dress up in old fashioned costumes, each pictutre a walk down memory lane. The synapses in my brain were on fire now as sometimes I laughed, and cringed at these old photogrsphs and some of them that brought me to tears.
I saw the picture of my twin brother and I turning 50. It was the last picture of my mom before she passed away less than 2 weeks later. Picures of my grandchildren only seconds old, being comforted by their new mom.
Each picture was different, in composition, lighting, quality and subject but yet they were all the same. They held cherished memories of all we hold dear. They have allowed us a brief moment to be frozen in time. These pictures of the past are opportunities for us to slow down from our everyday fast paced lifestyles to a slower, simpler time. They are gifts we give to ourselves to smile and say "I remember that"!
Pictures are much more than a collection of black and white or coloured paper with images on them. They are our past, and somehow they connect us to the present by pulling us back, refreshing our soul with smiles, laughter and lots of love.
If you see someone pointing a camera, most likely a smartphone now, at you, smile, stick out your tongue, whatever, because it's not just a picture, it's tomorrows memories and in the words of Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing ".
I bought some photo albums and I began by simply sorting the photos in groups. My husband and I before we were married, wedding photos, piles for each child plus ones together. The groups were an assortment of surprise photos, birthday party, family vacation, holidays and the all important end of the roll pictures.
You know the ones, in our old cameras when we actually had to use film, we wanted to take it out of the camera to be processed at our local Photomart. There was always another 1 or 2 pictures yet to be used and for some reason every person I have ever known would always insist on using that available space for a picture opportunity.
Like my parents before me, I would point the camera at one or both of my children and take a picture of what they were doing at that exact moment. These always turned out to be fun to see after the film roll was developed.
I always had film in my camera and my camera always sat in the cupboard over my range. I could easily grab it if necessary. It was there to commemorate my children's birthday parties, Halloween costumes and jack-o-lanterns, sledding on the hill, school plays, the first lost tooth, you name it, I snapped it.
While sorting these pictures, I could close my eyes and rewind my memory to that exact time. I found pictures of my parents at Christmas with some of us kids in the background. It took me back to the sweet scent of pine, candy and new toys. With each picture, I was catapolted back in time. The smells were still as strong, I could feel the texture of the clothes I was wearing, I could sense the same emotions! There were graduation pictures, prom pictures, pictures of my brothers when they moved away from home, pictures of my husband and I at the beach, our engagement picure, crazy pictures from Niagra Falls when you dress up in old fashioned costumes, each pictutre a walk down memory lane. The synapses in my brain were on fire now as sometimes I laughed, and cringed at these old photogrsphs and some of them that brought me to tears.
I saw the picture of my twin brother and I turning 50. It was the last picture of my mom before she passed away less than 2 weeks later. Picures of my grandchildren only seconds old, being comforted by their new mom.
Each picture was different, in composition, lighting, quality and subject but yet they were all the same. They held cherished memories of all we hold dear. They have allowed us a brief moment to be frozen in time. These pictures of the past are opportunities for us to slow down from our everyday fast paced lifestyles to a slower, simpler time. They are gifts we give to ourselves to smile and say "I remember that"!
Pictures are much more than a collection of black and white or coloured paper with images on them. They are our past, and somehow they connect us to the present by pulling us back, refreshing our soul with smiles, laughter and lots of love.
If you see someone pointing a camera, most likely a smartphone now, at you, smile, stick out your tongue, whatever, because it's not just a picture, it's tomorrows memories and in the words of Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing ".
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