Pictures......

I honestly think that whomever invented the camera is one of the smartest people to ever live! I have always loved photographs. I got my first camera when I was 6...turning 7. I still have the first pictures I took on our trip to Marietta. This was before my parents divorced, and probably the last trip we took as a family. We had a boat and took it down around Marietta on a river. I do remember going through the locks on the river...thinking that it was pretty neat. However, I also have the photos to prove it. :-) It is a bit strange because for some reason I do not remember much before my parents divorced (I was almost 8), but I feel like when I look at old pictures they do help to "jog" my memory. Of course, these pictures from the trip to Marietta certainly do. But I have also looked at my Mom's old albums to help me remember things like.....a parade that I was in when I was 3'ish. I was in a little wagon pulled by goats, and my hair was in blond pigtails. My mom also has a picture of me with a kitty on our deck, and I guess I named it Miss Kitty. The pictures also remind me of birthday's through the age of 7. I am thankful that my Mom kept albums of us.

So anyway, I started appreciating pictures at a young age. I have quite a few photo albums of my own from that age of 6/7 through high school. Then when college began I started accumulating 1-2 per year!!! :-) Ironically, I haven't printed any pictures or made a scrapbook since 2004/2005 when we lived in Seattle (I keep saying I am going to start again). However, I certainly have not stopped taking pictures.......they take up a lot of space on our computers (or so my husband reminds me often :-)).

In college I took a photography class that I absolutely loved. That was the point when I started to appreciate pictures for more than just remembering occasions, but also to appreciate the beauty around you. I know from time to time I try to capture the beauty around me in a picture, but the picture never quite comes out as good as what you see.......

I am so thankful to have pictures. Being a very practical person, I feel that in a way they are your memory (I know they have been mine). A glimpse of the present and past that can bring one comfort, joy, thankfulness........ It helps me not forget someone, or maybe it is better said, it helps me not to forget exactly what someone looks like. And not forget about those amazing times together....... I have been known to carry my camera with me, just in case there will be something I need to photograph. However, I most always take it to social gatherings, especially celebrations. I love to capture the happiness of people in the moment......and just see people smiling at the camera for those posed shots. I love to photograph people that are important to me, or times that are important.

I have learned the preciousness of human life, and how you do not know what tomorrow may hold. Through these pictures I will be able to remember exactly what someone looks like and remember the good times we had together. The pictures will always be there, and if at any point I think I am beginning to forget the good times.....or what they were wearing on that special occasion......their eye color......the contour of their smile....all I have to do is bring out that picture to bring back those detailed memories. Pictures - one of life's greatest gifts!!!!