Capturing Memories, Faces and Personality

Thank you technology for photography - what a treasure trove we sow as our youngins smile and grow! A recent e-news from friend and photographer, Robyn Ivy (www.robynivyphotography.com), has spurred my desire to look back on my recorded life in celluloid and pixels.

Unfortunately, last March, my seven year old son accidently dropped my lap top, which caused my hard drive to irreparably crash. Yes, I lost a lot of unsaved docs and many, many photos, my fault- I wasn't the greatest back'er'upper.

I'm hoping that I have back up disks and digital photo cards tucked in a box somewhere, along with the zillions of pre-digital printed photos and albums I own. It's been a year, and I can't believe I haven't gone to my storage and checked.

Thankfully, I just flipped through my Facebook albums and found some precious favorite thumbnail photos of my son's first few years when we lived in our splendid home on Broad Rock Rd in Wakefield. A house that we sold just before his fifth birthday. He doesn't remember much of those days, so I'm glad these photos have resurfaced. Photos rock! To think of how we click away digitally, as if creating an ever ceaseless motion picture was something we've been doing for centuries, forgetting just how powerful preserving moments truly is.

When I see his little face in these photos I see the charming and funny little guy that he was as a baby and toddler; I also recall all the unknowns.."Will my little guy be respectful?"; "Will he grow to be a productive, happy adult?" HIs personality is in full bloom now, and I can see how he is his own little man, but also a sponge and keen observer of what goes on around him. Parenting is of course both fun and challenging. We need to uphold a responsibility to be good examples of habit and manner, while also allowing our children to develop their own sense of Self and soverignty.

Being the "involved" PTO and hands on kind of parent that I am; I've volunteered to produce his elementary school's yearbook, a collection of photos that I hope will add up to rich childhood memories for every one of the 400 students in his wonderful elementary school. If captured and shared, they're remembered... how you feel is remembered, how those around you felt. Photo collections carry emotion and are a powerful way to reflect on what we have imprinted on our lives. Snap away!