Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Worth Remembering
We had an relaxed, somewhat damp outdoor belated birthday gathering for my Mama, this past weekend. Our kids came home for the night and my brothers and their families were here. It was the first time since Covid hit that we’d all gotten together, but we did stay outside and try to be sensible- which is particularly hard for this group. The little kids kicked the soccer ball and played basketball. We sat around a fire and ate our fire-roasted, sweet delicacies. There was an engagement ring that hadn’t yet been admired by everyone. There were new homeowner pictures to share. Stories about trips taken. We goo-gooed over my great-nephew or “the baby” as we like to call the youngest member of any southern family. We just enjoyed being together even if it was out in the misty weather.
Well, every family has a photographer. This very important person is the one who is sent from above to document the existence of the family unit for the generations who follow. Being between two brothers, I am that aforementioned person. I am clearly the only hope to see that we each, at least, have a semi-current photo from which a search party could work in the event that one should be necessary.
At our family events, I am always reminded that there are two types of people when the camera comes out. Surely my family isn’t alone in this. There are those who snap to attention and are ready to pose anytime they’re asked. These people are a joy to the family photographer and are always happy to have their existence documented. Then, there are those who grumble and scatter and stall and make the whole process take three times longer than it should- and, when the picture is finally taken, they look as if they were having a barium enema administered at the very moment the picture was snapped. This latter category is the one into which my brothers would fall. It is difficult to take a pleasant picture of someone in mid-sentence of- “I am smiling- hurry up.”
This photographic resistance is mainly a man thing in our family under the leadership of my two siblings. The younger boys are cooperative until they reach a certain age and then they start to follow the lead of their uncooperative male role models. So, they let out these grunts when I start taking pictures- kind of a primal sound. But, that’s ok. I could take it when the two of them beat me over the head with a Fisher-Price corn popper, back in the day, so I can certainly take any murmuring they dish out now.
The reason I bother is because I know that soon enough little feet will grow big. Chocolate milk mustaches will turn into real ones. Styles will change. Hair thins and grays. New faces come along and old ones go away. Young skin will wrinkle. Waist lines will expand. And one day, when life is different than it is now, we’ll want to be reminded of little feet and chocolate milk mustaches. We’ll want to remember the thicker hair and the outdated fashions and the time we spent together back then. We’ll want to see the faces of the ones who are no longer at the table. To look at their eyes and the lines that were in their faces. I take pictures because I want to remember all those things when they’re gone. Those little feet. Those lined faces. And everything in between.
Happy Thursday to y’all!
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In recent years, my kids have rolled their eyes and groaned when I want to document a special time, event, or gathering, or just because. Just this week my youngest was texting me from school asking for pictures of him as a baby and current for a project he was working on in one of his classes. I will be going through pictures in the near future for use in my daughter's wedding reception. I never got a picture of my parents on their 50th wedding anniversary to put in a frame with one of their wedding pictures. Now my mother is no long with us for any future pictures. I have very few pictures of my grandparents and other family members from their younger days. Take the pictures! Still love reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Marilyn! Your children will appreciate your efforts one day! I do regret some of the pictures I never took, but wouldn’t trade the ones I have for anything. Thanks for reading ❤️
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