Treasures

On my birthday a family friend found a box of photo albums and scrapbooks belonging to my mom. I have been working my way through them and they appear to be from her childhood, college years and young married years before she had kids. There are things like spelling papers and report cards, artwork and awards, her National Honors Society Certificate. There are lots of newspaper articles, one very bizarre collage and a few cards and letters. My favorite things, though are the photos. There are some priceless pictures of her from babyhood to young adult and I have already started scanning some of them. Some of my favorites include a family photo at my great grandparents' 50th Wedding Anniversary, a very old photo of my Grandaddy in uniform from his time in the navy (1940s) and a portrait of my mom at 16. She looks gorgeous.

There is something innately comforting about sifting through these precious pieces of paper and pictures that makes me feel more connected to my mom. Although it makes me sad that I can't share the experience with my mom, it is still something precious for me to cling to in my sorrow. It's amazing how desperately one begins to cling to one's heritage when you are suddenly faced with losing large chunks of it.

This is another photo I like taken in

August of 1974, of the staff at Country Lake Camp, a children's summer camp run my grandparents. Appearing here are my Nana and Grandaddy, my mom, my dad, my aunt, my uncle and another "aunt" aka family friend. It was taken the month before my parents got married.