I started organizing our family photos the other day......trust me, it's not an easy task.....but I was getting worried because my recollection is not what it used to be and I fear that if I wait any longer, I'll be too confused, overwhelmed.
When my daughter DDA, our first child was born, naturally every picture taken, and there were many, was immediately printed, dated and scrapbooked, complete with whimsical magazine cutouts and clever summary blurbs....."DDA's first steps", "DDA's first words", "DDA's first tooth", "DDA's first ......"
There are pictures and descriptions ad nauseam.........seriously, how many ways are there to describe the first time you sucked a booger out of your baby's nose?.....apparently, 3 pages worth (I kid you not)! The point is, DDA has a documented journal of her infant years and her brother, SOS, does not....he has a documented page (1/2 page actually) ...... I know, no need to jump all over me, I already feel guilty! How awful, I agree!.... and that, my dears, is the reason why I've taken on this monumental project..... and I mean massive..... you have to remember, my children are teenagers now...there's a lot of firsts in there. Hell, there's a lot of tenths, twelfths and fifteens! I'm thinking this might take a while!
So I psyched myself up and started by collecting all the baby wipe containers that I had filled with the multitude of pictures from over the years. I know what your thinking, ingenious filing system right? Feel free to borrow it. I then stacked the boxes neatly next to the work table I had set up, complete with scrapbooks, scissors, glue, tape, and every other tool necessary for this master craftsman to perform her magic and just sat there, dumbfounded, and stared at ALL of them... What the hell have I gotten myself into? I slowly regained control of myself and took the first box off the pile...
First, I strategically planned, I'll separate the pictures into piles by subject, sounds easy enough.....WRONG!
You see, as the years pass....as people grow older....as gravity plays it's dirty tricks on us, people, especially members of the same family who share common traits (and some not so common traits), tend to start looking alike (not too pretty) ..... there were pictures of drooling children, drooling adults...... men with mustaches, children with mustaches, woman with mustaches...There were tall kids and fat men, short women and skinny girls..... there was one woman, of whom I have no recollection, that had different color hair in every picture, some colors which I had never seen before!......I picked up one of the pictures, "That's your Aunt Agnes", I confidently announced..."No, no it's not, it's my Uncle Fred, I can tell by the beard." Prince Charming replied. "Oh, if you say so." I didn't have the heart to tell him that this picture was one of the few that in fact contained a notation on the back and it clearly read "Aunt Agnes". Some things are better left unsaid. (It's a well known fact that MY side of the family is the better looking one and this project has only reaffirmed that!)
Well, I've somehow managed to work my way through a few of the boxes. There are many more to go. And, while the identities might be a little jumbled and the captions a bit confused, somewhere within these mixed-up pages lie the precious memories of our lives.
Who cares if it's your Aunty or your Uncle?
it's your FAMILY!
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