I won't be serving a meal on my dining room table anytime soon. I'm in the zone. I'm determined to get this job done. I have always told people that I am the keeper of 10,000 pictures. I believe I may have underestimated. And though I am the "keeper", that doesn't mean I've been terribly organized
at the storage or preservation of said pictures. Simply put, they're everywhere. I have pictures in small boxes, large boxes, plastic tubs, photo albums, drawers, trunks, closets. Do I have to embarrass myself further or do you get the "picture"? For the past couple of years I've been attacking the trove
little by little, trying to at least determine just what I do have. I thought I had made good progress
until a few weeks ago when I found four (count 'em - four) more large boxes of pictures in storage.
Obviously, my major goal is to no longer be that keeper. I want to look at the pictures, oooooh and
ahhhhhhh and then put them in one of an organized grouping of stacks in preparation for mailing the
pictures to siblings, my son, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, etc. Simply put, I want the pictures to go away. I have enjoyed them. I have housed them. Time now to go. It's not that the pictures don't mean anything to me. On the contrary, pictures - as all of you know - are priceless and precious. I cherish them. But they have to go.
Oh, they're not all going. Certainly I'll keep some, probably too many. If there are doubles, in many
cases I'll keep one and send off the other. Of course - there are no doubles of the very old prints. So
then I have to decide if I, in fact, can bring myself to share them. PRAY FOR ME!!!!! :)
I have pictures that belonged to my grandmother, my great-grandmother, my parents, my siblings,
my son, his friends, my friends, my husband........I have pictures I cannot begin to identify. Way too many of those. And sometimes, in such an instance, I force myself to just let them go.
I love the old pictures. I can stare at them for the longest time. I love history, particularly family
history and each picture tells another story - usually one I've never actually heard. So I have to
make it up as I study the picture. Sometimes they include old family homes of people I never
actually knew. My ancestors are so young in those pictures and they're holding babies that grew
up and lived and died. And the fashions of the women are amazing! I have pictures of my grand-
mother and grandfather in Forest Park, St. Louis - I believe taken before they even married. Grandma
looks like a fashion model with her wonderfully stylish clothing of that era! It makes me appreciate them both in a way I was never able to when they were still with me.
And some of the old pictures include family pets. I'll never know their names, but you can tell that
they were loved. If you know me, you know that these pictures particularly speak to my heart. They too lived and died and were mourned and missed by the family who loved them.
I actually have two funeral pictures of family members as they lay in state - both taken professionally at the old Welge Funeral Chapel. This is a custom that I don't believe takes place anymore. One is of my great-grandmother and the other of my aunt who was murdered when she was only 17 years of age. I know the idea of having these pictures sounds gruesome, but somehow when I look at these pictures, I don't feel that way. Again, it allows me a glimpse into events and people I did not actually experience but who I feel I knew.
And oh, the baby pictures! I have to admit that when sending manila after manila to my son for his
own keeping or pitching, I cannot part with the baby pictures. I can send him all sorts of pictures of
his many activities - but not the baby pictures. They will always be with me. And each time I look
at the multitude of them I am reminded of a new, sweet memory. Precious and Priceless.
If you are one of those people who specializes in scientifically preserving pictures, don't call me
to give me advice, please. That is not and never will be my modus operandi. Apparently, in my
seeming ignorance, I've done allright - because they're all still here with me. And also if you are
someone who is passionate about "cropping" - I beg you - don't tell me about it. Not only do I
not care to attempt that feat, the thought of it causes me to be short of breath.
So, in the coming days and weeks you may be receiving a manila envelope from me - or perhaps
in some cases - an actual package, containing pictures that I have decided you should have. All you
have to do is let me know they have arrived. Thank me politely and then - if you don't want the
pictures inside those packages, YOU throw them away and DON'T EVER TELL ME!
As we grow in years we become aware that "things" do not really matter as much as we may have
once thought they did. But I believe pictures do not fall within that category. In one of the rooms
in my house I have what some may call an unusual grouping of small framed pictures - all of me
as a small child with my family members who are now all gone. Someone who saw them once asked me why I had this grouping of pictures in such a prominent place. I responded that these pictures
remind me of who I was. I KNOW who I AM. But I often need to be reminded of who I was. A small
thing, I guess. But precious and priceless.
Friends, I've been on the porch a lot this week - at all hours - enjoying the wonderful fresh air! I
enjoy Winter. I really do. I'm possibly one of the very few people who actually does enjoy Winter. But this respite has been amazing! So enjoy these next couple of days. I know I will be!
