A look back at 2009

Lost memories? Thankfully no!

On Easter Sunday, we all met at my mom’s for a family cookout. We all had great time. Seems we all get along better now that we have grown up than we did as kids. Maybe it is because we no longer live under the same roof???

I started looking through a box of old photographs my mom keeps in her room. Sitting and looking at old photographs has always been a favorite pastime of mine. Who would have imaged that?

In the box was an old photograph I have seen many times. It is one of my favorites. It is the one you see here. The young mother is my grandmother and the child is my mom.

I am very fortunate to still have my mom to go with on one of our many excursions. I do miss my grandmother though.

I am grateful that grandmother went to a portrait studio and had this portrait of her and my mom made XX (mom won’t let me say exactly how many) years ago. If she had not, then I would never have seen what she and my mom looked like at that age.

Grandmother was beautiful. BTW, the look on mom’s face is one I see all the time on Sarah’s when I tell her to do something.

I am going to take the time to restore this image for mom and give it to her for her birthday. I think she would like to have this memory framed where she can enjoy it everyday.

There were no computers back when this image was made. So I am glad there is an actual photograph of this memory. The paper is a little worn, but I am not sure I would have ever seen it if it was on a computer disk sitting on a shelf somewhere.

In the box are more old family photos, some from other studios and some just family snapshots. I love them all; well maybe not some of the ones of me in a puffy perm. But I am glad this portrait was done by a photographer that knew what they were doing.

The highlights are not blown out and the photograph was not poorly lit (like what many photographers these days call “creative” or “natural” lighting), nor was any special technique needed to fix the image. Since the photographer knew what he/she (more than likely a he back then) was doing, I am able to look into both of their eyes and even see that sparkle in grandmother’s eye.

I remember that sparkle. Maybe I’ll frame me up one of these memories too.