My Digital Camera

I am a picture taker.

I just love pictures.  I always have.  It drives some of the people in my life crazy...  But that's okay.  I feel like it's a way of documenting life. 

I can remember the days of rolls of film.  I always tried to buy the 36 exposure rolls.  So that I could maximize my picture taking.  And then there was the whole waiting to get them developed ordeal.  And cost.  I can remember how excited I was when we got a 1-Hour Photo option in Panama.  I seriously could not wait to get my pictures!  And it was always a bummer when half of the pictures didn't turn out well.  Because those were moments lost forever.  By the time you realized the picture didn't take well -- or that 5 of the 7 people in the picture blinked...  Well, it was days, weeks, even months later, you know? 

Funny thing is that I swore I wouldn't want -- or get -- a digital camera.  Ever.  (Confession:  I'm a late adopter of technology.)  At that point, I just couldn't grasp the concept of digital pictures and cameras. 

Obviously I got over that.

Now I can't imagine having to wait longer than the flip of the replay button to examine the "goodness" of that last picture ;)...  (And funny enough, kids today know they can see the picture instantly!  And it's never been any other way for them!)

I love my digital camera.  I've had it since 2005, and this thing has been a work-horse!  It's traveled with me from Dothan to Tuscaloosa to Seattle to Panama (where I almost lost it by leaving it in a restaurant in Boquete...) to Atlanta to Bremerton to Birmingham to Orlando to Pennsylvania to New York City to Washington D.C....  And through several of the states as I drove cross-country... twice.  It has captured the Space Needle, the CNN Building, the World of Coke, Bear Bryant (or at least his statue), the Blues Brothers, the Panama Canal, the Panama City Panama Temple, the Liberty Bell.  It has helped me preserve memories of eating an authentic Philly Cheesesteak, riding the NYC subway, surprising my sister with a visit to Washington (before I lived here), visiting friends, having foodie parties, dressing up 80's style, marrying my husband, expanding my stomach in 9 months, my daughter's precious smile -- and even her wonderful laugh!  It has frozen in time images of my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my cousins and aunts and brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews, my friends, my sweetheart, my sweet baby girl, and even me.

My camera is a treasure.  And though it is older and probably outdated by many standards...  It is my camera.  It has experienced so much of my life with me.  It has documented my life and saved for me the images of many years of happiness and joy, hopes and dreams, and even sorrows.  How grateful I am for the technology that exists to allow me to take hundreds... thousands of pictures...  And store them on disks, view them immediately, print them to frame and cherish.  How grateful I am for my little Power Shot.  It's seen so much of what I've seen.  And has much more to see, I'm sure :).

What are you grateful for today?