"Old" Photos

Every photograph tells a story.  I believe that firmly. 

It drives my husband crazy -- my love of pictures.  But I just feel they are a way I hold on to memories.  They have a story to tell.  A story for me to remember.  That pile of pictures pictured there has stories of Marvelous Monday Meals (and the meal that was so delicious yet so fattening and so unbelievably filling that I actually awoke in the middle of that night having serious stomach pains -- I think it was from the 3 or 4 yeast rolls I ate... along with the cheesy potato soup, the salad, and the delicious chocolate peanut butter ice cream pie...), my trip to Savannah with Juliebean, my trip to the Oregon coast with my mommy (with a stopover in Astoria to see the Goonies jail -- and yes, I took tons of pictures).

I can't help but smile as I flip through these pictures. 

I pulled out this box of pictures I printed and never organized (we're talking about 300 pictures) from 2010 to 2011.  One of my goals is to work on the Monday Meals cookbook, and since I had all the pictures printed from our meals, I decided I should see how far I'd printed them. 

But oh what treasures were within that box (in addition to the delicious food pics, of course).  Memories of turning 30 and hanging with Lea in Seattle...  Memories of April's wedding...  Of an *infamous* Sounders game in which certain people posed with a red key -- and ate gray hot dogs...  Of early dating days with my sweetheart... Of eating at Latinos y Mas and watching the servers drool over the beautiful teenager we had with us...  Memories of birthday parties and food parties (like the "back to school" themed party for the nieces and nephews in which gummy bears rode a banana bus with mini oreo wheels...)...  Memories of my first garden from start to finish (including me weed whacking grass that was up to my waist, the lawn chair wind-break, and the fruits -- and vegetables -- of my labors). 

So many memories. 

This is why I take pictures.  It's why I treasure my camera.  I'm so grateful we live in a time when pictures are a thing we can easily take for granted (even if we shouldn't...).  I can't imagine life without all my pictures. 

True story:  I used to consider getting a safety deposit box for all my negatives....  And sometimes I still think we need a fire safe box for my old negatives and our more up-to-date CDs with all the pictures.  Because it would be a tragedy for me to lose all my pictures. 

So I plan to take pictures for years to come.  To cherish the memories.  And to smile at a life lived with happiness and fun.

What are you grateful for today?