Picture It

I am nuts about pictures, as several boxes, scrapbooks, and photo albums at our house will attest. So when the younger of my older brothers gave me a card with these reproduced childhood photos, I was thrilled. Most of our childhood photos were lost when my grandparents home burned to the ground. (My dad and stepmother had been using it for the storage of all the "extras" that combining two households brings.) Thankfully and unbeknown to me, my brother had latched onto some of the old albums. He got my niece to scan and print some favorites for me. I was so touched.

Then my oldest brother had taken all of the 8mm home movies of our childhood and had them burned onto a DVD for my dad. I had never seen these movies, taken in the 50's and early 60's. Imagine seeing my first steps, birthday celebrations, Christmas mornings, homes of my childhood, and family pets. Better still, seeing my mom before the accident that crippled her--so young and vibrant. (Since I was 4 at the time of the accident, I have no memory of her before that time.) I even saw one of my aunts slipping into her wedding dress and another aunt at her "capping" party after she became an RN. It was amazing to see Grandma with black hair, buttoning the bride's dress. I saw my mom's mother who died several years before I was born, both when she was healthy and then later when she was bed fast. My great-grandmothers on both sides were in some of these silent movies. It was like opening a time capsule.

And then there were the wonderful pictures that came in our Christmas cards. No, the side of my fridge will never be featured in a decorating magazine, but I love those little faces of babies and children of family, friends, and former students. It makes me smile every time I walk through my kitchen.

I like looking on the faces of those I love or who were important in my life. Pictures can say it, when words can't.