While celebrating the Tyler Family Christmas, my Aunt Ang called all the nieces and nephews into the room because she had something for us. She carried out several Ziploc bags and handed each of us one with our name on it. The contents were an assortment of pictures, drawings, clippings, etc etc that she'd saved over the years and she wanted us to have them.
For the next 30 minutes, we all flipped through our respective bags, laughing at old photos of days long since gone. It was a great gift. My Grandma and Grandpa Tyler passed away more than 20 years ago. You forget what people sound like, even what they look like. These pictures remind me a little bit that they still impact our lives. Makes me happy that someone took them. That's why I'm a little peeved that I didn't take any pictures over the holidays. The pictures I take shouldn't be for me... they should be for my nieces, (hopefully) nephews and (hopefully) my own kids to look back on and laugh. Not every picture is going to be a great, or even good, shot but it's not about that. It's about capturing that moment in time and preserving it... proving the vulnerability of it all.
From left to right... my Grandma and Grandpa Tyler holding a very young version of myself; my gun and I not taking any lip while my Aunt Ang and sister, Meghann, play in the background; a letter I wrote to my Grandma... probably after I couldn't have a 15th ice cream sandwich (I'm certain my two-year-old niece can spell better than I could at age seven); sitting on the couch with my brother looking dirt poor and corn-fed; and finally dropping a deuce or maybe I peed sitting down, who knows.
For the next 30 minutes, we all flipped through our respective bags, laughing at old photos of days long since gone. It was a great gift. My Grandma and Grandpa Tyler passed away more than 20 years ago. You forget what people sound like, even what they look like. These pictures remind me a little bit that they still impact our lives. Makes me happy that someone took them. That's why I'm a little peeved that I didn't take any pictures over the holidays. The pictures I take shouldn't be for me... they should be for my nieces, (hopefully) nephews and (hopefully) my own kids to look back on and laugh. Not every picture is going to be a great, or even good, shot but it's not about that. It's about capturing that moment in time and preserving it... proving the vulnerability of it all.
From left to right... my Grandma and Grandpa Tyler holding a very young version of myself; my gun and I not taking any lip while my Aunt Ang and sister, Meghann, play in the background; a letter I wrote to my Grandma... probably after I couldn't have a 15th ice cream sandwich (I'm certain my two-year-old niece can spell better than I could at age seven); sitting on the couch with my brother looking dirt poor and corn-fed; and finally dropping a deuce or maybe I peed sitting down, who knows.
1 comment:
we learn a few things from these mementos.
1. you were a gigantic jerk at seven. quittin' your granny like that...dang.
2. your spelling was turrible, but your penmanship has been stellar for some time.
3. my hunch is your parents took that pic of you toiletting to prove to their friends that despite all their efforts you still couldn't understand how to use it. at all.
Post a Comment