A little while back,
Grace was watching an episode of Play School where the presenters were taking
photographs of Jemima and Humpty and all of the other toys and compiling an
album. The show finished and she came
running up to me with such a look of excitement, thrilled at the prospect of
sharing what she thought was a brilliant suggestion.
“Mummy, Mummy, I’ve got
a really great idea! Let’s take some
photos and print them out and then stick them into a book so we can look
through them.”
I smiled at her
enthusiasm and yet at the same time, felt horrified that the concept of a
‘photo album’ was so foreign to her. Why
did she not know what one was? When did
I stop printing out photos? Why had she
not experienced the same pastime I remember so fondly as a little girl?… flipping
through my Mum and Dad’s albums, full of photos of myself and my sister as
babies, of my parents and aunts and uncles as children, all of which led to
lots of questions, the sharing of tales and plenty of reminiscing. Photos that captured memories and milestones
and the changing of eras. Photos that
embodied ‘family life’.
I decided then and
there that making time to start on some memory keeping projects was a
priority.
My first efforts have
been spent on updating our hallway gallery where a collection of frames have
displayed several wedding photos ever since we’ve been in our home. While those photos were no less precious after all this time, somehow, displaying a handful of family
snapshots seemed a better fit for this space now. With a combination of frames from Country Road, Spotlight and op shops in white and timber, some favourite photos of us and the girls
are now on display… a mix of posed shots and other more candid ones. Not only is our new display more meaningful
to the girls, but swapping the black frames for lighter ones has really lifted
this space.
How about you? Do you still print out photos or have you too fallen victim to the digital age and the habit of viewing memories on-screen only?
