SO I DON'T FORGET US

 You can't stay in your corner of the forest
  waiting for others to come to you.
 You have to go to them sometimes. 

 - A. A. Milne 


Wanna hear something sad? Of all the pictures that we have of my dad, I can find only one of them that is just of him and me - this one above. Yes, that makes me very sad.

 A Chilly Fall Day 

I can remember the moments when a lot of the other pictures were taken, because I took them myself. But I'm not sure who took this picture of us. It certainly wasn’t one of my better ones, but now I treasure it. I remember standing with him in the yard on a chilly fall day when it was taken. We laughed when it was developed, (pre-cell phone cameras), because the clothesline in the back looked like a cross, and although a God-fearing man, my dad hardly ever attended church. On that rare occasion when he did, (and always in a suit and tie), we joked that the church was going to fall down. 

 Noteworthy 

Why aren’t there more pictures of just him and me? Why didn’t I take any selfies? I guess I just didn’t think about doing it, because there was nothing noteworthy going on. What makes something noteworthy anyway? That prom, that wedding, that birthday, of course, those are noteworthy. But, what about that time we put those ticket stubs on our glasses, or the day we climbed Stone Mountain, or the time you kissed a flower, or the time we huddled on the beach to stay warm on a chilly day? Those moments, those everyday-run-of-the-mill moments with that crazy hair, or that weird expression, that “day” we’ll remember and wish we had snapped; yeah, those times are noteworthy and need to be remembered too. 

 Say Cheese! 

So forget about not wearing make-up, or the fact that you’ve spilled something on your shirt, and remember it all with a picture, a selfie, something you can touch and hold. Because, let’s face it people, life happens, sometimes over years that go by too quickly, and sometimes in just a split second. And one day you won’t have that hand to hold or that face to kiss, because they’ve moved away, or moved on….. And you don’t want any regrets now do you? 

I’ll always have those pictures from my past in my mind’s eye, of those times when I didn’t have handy that fancy DSLR, or that Polaroid, or even that cheapy disposable. But now, I don’t have an excuse, because I carry a camera every day. So if we’re together and I say, “Let’s take a selfie!” it’s not to remember me, but so I don’t forget US. Say cheese please! 

Here’s the latest picture of US. My mom and I went to a quilt show and as I was struggling to make my arm long enough to get the 2 of us and the quilt in the picture, some nice lady asked if she could help out. I’m glad she did.

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