All Little Cuter's images live in the ether. Some are printed on her professional grade machine, some come in books through Shutterfly, some I print out and pick up at Walgreens, but all of them are in the cloud.
Apparently, all of my pictures are there, too. Google Photos reminds me that before I was perforated I was climbing mountains - and it does this without my having to lift a finger. If I want to explore my children's childhoods, however, I have to go through the giant box of pictures stuffed in the back of the library closet.
It's a chore that nags at me. I have albums and embellishments and glue dots and archival pens at the ready, but the task just never seems to get done. It wasn't making itself known until our Halloween visit to the grandkids. FlapJilly liked sitting in between the couch and the cabinet, perusing her mother's old photo albums, pointing out the people she recognized, making up stories about them, nodding sagely over whatever was going through her head at the time.
And I though of that giant box of photos, just sitting there, waiting for her. There are empty pages in all those old albums, and she's old enough to put them in herself. All I have to do is collect them, then sit back and watch the fun.
So I must pull out the boxes blocking the giant box. I must not get distracted by the items I've dislodged. I must be ruthless in culling the wheat from the chaff; I don't need six shots of the same scene so five of those photos will go to the trash can.
It feels harsh, but I have to do it. If I don't, my heirs will curse me as they assume the task.
The more I think about it, the more this becomes more than just a gift for my granddaughter. It's a kindness I'm doing for my children.
I can't motivate myself to clear out the detritus from the closets for my own benefit. Perhaps the kids will be the impetus I need.
As I leave
YESSSSSSSSSSS!!! I just bought an old-school photo album with sticky pages for all of my prints that have aged out of their frames and thought about how badly I want all of the pictures in your boxes. We will do ALL THE WORK!
ReplyDeleteOkay. I’ll pull out the boxes right now!
Deletea/b aka Mama/Gramma
I have made a picture book each year for each grandchild. They can sit for long periods of time looking at them and remembering, even before they could remember!
ReplyDeleteYeah, that was my plan, too...
Deletea/b
Those old sticky page albums aren't acid free and aren’t a good place for your photos! Please use newer acid free albums instead. Have you considered scanning the photos 1st so then you'd have them in the cloud too? It's a tedious job so I do some of my own scanning and also send some things out for one of the many available services to do. I'm not nearly done but I try to keep plugging away at it. Good luck! It's a huge project but with Little Cuter's enthusiasm and support - you've got this!
ReplyDeleteHaving spent the better part of today on a low stool going through bad photographs and heart-stoppingly beautiful photographs before realizing that I'm barely half-way through the stash, I'm feeling like "my work here is done!" Here's to 2019, and a daughter and granddaughter with the will to finish the task!
Deletea/b
I have access to an office scanner- I'm on it! (and the album I bought is acid free- no damage will happen if I can help it!)
DeleteYES! to the gift to your heirs. Hubs and I have cleared three houses full of stuff, the pictures were always the hardest to deal with. Eventually we decided that slides were out, pictures of people we didn't know were out and that lightened the load. I STILL have a large moving box stuffed in the closet that I just can't face. What DOES one do with a hand smocked toddler dress in perfect condition? I guess when we're gone the heirs can put it over the side.
ReplyDeleteRead tomorrow's snippet for G'ma and my day of The Scary Old People. Been there, done that.
Deletea/b