Memory Lane
Have you spent hours (or entire weekends) sorting through old photographs to create memory books?
That’s so cool!
I come from generations of not doing that.
We have boxes, bins, and bags of photos…with the occasional album.
I’ve been going through an eclectic mix of old photos with my 85-year-old mother.
We have picked through black and white photos of long deceased relatives, their trips across the country, their farms, and first vehicles. We have faded orange-y toned photographs from the 1960s and 70s of weddings, reunions, and pets. There are some from 35mm cameras, Kodak disc cameras, and Polaroids as my parents bought their first house (on an acre in Seattle for $4000 in 1968, but that’s another story), started their family, became involved in our community, celebrated holidays, watched my dad get sick and die, us kids grow up and have kids of our own until cell phones and Shutterfly took over.
The stories are woven in the photos, but the narrators and characters won’t always be here. As they go, so do parts of their stories. If not written down, or lovingly made into a Memory Book, they will become irretrievable: the photos tossed in garbage bins or left in frames in Antique Stores.
Since Dad died in 1984, I’ve counted on my mom to stay alive forever. She’s done a fabulous job so far, but even if she lives as long as her mom before her (age 92), we have a finite number of times ahead of us where we can share memories.
Connections with those who’ve gone before us are not impossible, but they are not as easy as having a conversation with someone in the flesh. Mediums receive signs and symbols and share messages for the receiver to interpret. It’s an awesome experience. HOWEVER...
However, today is key for making connections with the living.
I may be counting on my mom to live another seven years, but it’s not guaranteed. It could be tomorrow, or she could hit the century mark! It’s not up to me.
Connections. It’s all about making connections in the present moment.
The thing about old photographs - there are no cell phones in people’s hands. Whether posed or candid, people are present with other people.
This week’s angel message is to connect with the people who matter to you.
Our time is finite. Our stories fade away. We have NOW.
When your time is up, are you going to wish you played another game of Candy Crush? Are you going to be relieved that you reorganized your sock drawer 187 times over the course of your life? Or are you going to thank yourself for making memories and stories?
