Coffee in hand, pups at foot, and life erupting all around me. Sip. Eyes close to savor. Sigh. Smile.
Sounds like the perfect time to start a blog, huh?
Let me take you to the beginning. After all, that is where all good stories start, right?
When I think about my childhood one thing, in particular, stands out. I wish I had had more baby photos of myself to see. I wish there had been more photos of chubby legs and walking shoes and shag carpet. I wish there had been a camera there the first time I tried ice cream or a slice of lemon. I have a few photos between my parents and my grandparents that pacified me I suppose, but oh how I wish I could have looked back through time through photos and watched myself come to be. Maybe that is why I fell in love with photos.
My first camera was a Vivitar. Tiny cans of film and all. As I arrived into my teen years, disposable cameras were all the rage and I made sure I always had one on hand. Trips, camps, the month of July…it didn’t really matter what, I just wanted to capture the moment and remember always.
Remember always
Not many people know what I am about to share with you. (I do have his permission btw) You see, when Mark and I were dating he lost his memory for a time. It was 50 First Dates in real life, minus all the cans of SPAM. And Hawaii. It was heartbreaking. And hard. Of course, we kept on living life during that time. We went to the weddings of dear friends and took trips. There were also the everyday events too, like birthdays and holidays. “You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone” isn’t just a cliche 80s rock lyric, it is absolutely true. As Mark slowly began regaining his memory, it was photographs that helped him remember that we’d lived life and that it was beautiful and real. Photographs held his memories still for him, still enough for him to grasp again.
Fast forward a bit and we started having our brood of kids. I always wanted a camera on-hand that was quick and efficient, able to capture all I needed it to, just in case anything ever happened again. On that off chance I would want Mark, or anyone really, to have concrete evidence of their life…of what mattered most. To be able to see and hopefully remember.
Nowadays we carry advanced cameras in our pockets. Parents are getting pretty good at documenting pretty much everything. But what we’re not good at? Getting in the shot with our kids. The other thing we aren’t great at? Printing photos out. How many times have you dropped your phone in the toilet or sink and lost all your photos? Do you upload all your content when you get a new phone? If you are anything like the rest of us, the answer is nope.
Pro-Tip…Seriously Just Do It
Here’s a couple of pro-tips to get your photos out of your phone and on your walls. First, just do a massive upload to a photo book website and make a book. Don’t get caught up in editing, or positioning, captions. Just print the book. In this case, it’s better to get a B- on the assignment than to turn in nothing. Another idea is to do a book each year and have the site do it chronologically. There are newer apps out that help you print off the pics from your social media and phone as well. Whatever you choose, just do it. Seriously.
We have a wall full of unstaged-life-full-throttle candids and memory photos at our house. These are the ones our kids love best. They love seeing all of us in photos. Some have grandparents, some have our dogs, but they all have real life. These are the photos I love best too.
My favorite shots are the candids. The in-between moments that could be easy to overlook, but that are just as brimming with our real life. Mom tying little shoes before releasing the Krakken on the playground. Daddy wiping ketchup off a chubby cheek or ruffling his Mini-Me’s hair. The ice cream truck stopping on a Wednesday evening. Getting a new puppy. Even with weddings, births, and graduations, I am hyper-aware that these magic little vignettes of life-in-between happen. It’s my mission now to capture them. For your family…and mine.
I’m out of coffee now. But I wonder…when was the last time someone captured the magic little moments of your family? Were you included, Momma? Let’s connect. Those moments are too precious to let them slip by.