They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but memories are priceless. Both of these are true. I absolutely love taking pictures! Anyone who knows me, is well aware of this fact. I always have my phone ready to snap a photo (and before Smartphones, I was never without my handheld camera). I literally take several hundred pictures a year- of my family, friends, holidays, events we attend, etc. (And yes, I did say several hundred!)
Picture Printer
I know lots of people that take plenty of pics too. Some share them on social media, others take them for their own pleasure (I’m a combination of both). But one big difference I have found between most of my friends and I , is that I print out nearly every picture I take (after editing and deleting some of course)! I have dozens of traditional photo albums chock full of pictures. And I really enjoy the hours of time it takes to organize my picture piles into chronological order and place them into albums. I’ll often do some scrapbooking with it and include parts of brochures or memorabilia that go along with our memories.
Most people seem to keep their photos stored on their devices or in the Cloud. The problem in doing that, for me, is that technology is not always my friend. I have been known to go through cell phones and laptops faster than the average person. The thought of losing my precious pictures gives me anxiety. So, putting my trust in such technology makes me nervous. Plus, I’d rather have the chance to look through albums with family and friends, instead of just looking at them on a computer or phone.
My albums are some of my most prized possessions. They would be part of the first items I’d try to save if something were to happen to our home. They act as a highlight reel of our life, and the memories come flooding back when I peruse the images taken from decades of picture printing. Some pics bring back happy memories (like the births of our daughters, buying our home, or our wedding) and some bring back difficult times that we’ve trudged through together (like car accidents, hospital stays, or natural disasters). The positive pictures are obviously a favorite, but the hard times are what got us from one happy snapshot to the next and made our family what it is now (and therefore I wouldn’t trade them).
Framing Fun
I don’t stop at just photo albums either. I also print pictures to place in collage photo frames in my home. My husband laughs and asks where I plan to put the next frame, since we have quickly run out of wall space in our house. We’ve had to get creative with our space, and use stand up frames, as well as over the door picture holders. This is because I don’t like to take out the pics in the frames to replace them. I want all the memories to surround me, not just the most recent family pictures. After all, since I cannot go back in time and relive each of the moments captured, looking at the pictures brings me back as much as possible.
Take the Pictures (and be in them too)
Time flies, and things constantly change so my advice is to take (and print) more pictures. And moms, be sure to get in those snapshots too. Your children need to see photos of you, and the entire family, when they look back, because memories can be fleeting, and life is short. We can’t possibly remember everything, so having pictures in albums is a way to keep the memories and special moments alive, long after they have passed us by.
