10/22/2025
These images are especially valuable to me, because the people are my own. Over the summer, I joined my mom and aunt in visiting my maternal grandmother and her sister. Between the five of us, we reside in four different states, so this get together was a rare privilege for all of us.
Most of you will never see what I see in these images; for me, they stir a flood of memories, not just from the moments photographically captured, like while we sat in the basement during tornado sirens, but also memories reaching back to my childhood. Each object helps me recall special interactions, like how regularly staying Saturday nights at my grandmother's house so often included iridescent nail polish while watching either Ice Skating or Bull Riding--because those were the only options on TV. It seemed we had every color of sprinkles to choose from for our weekend baking adventures, and there are so many other things that consistently remind me of times we spent together. Like the smell of cinnamon sugared toast, the color rust-orange that reminds me of her carpet, and intentionally toppling dominoes after erecting a complex line. Even as I write this, some memories pop up after decades of dormancy, like a tiny me, standing on her bathroom scale "to see how much I 'wave'."
I look at these photos now and can just imagine each of these precious ladies feeling self-conscious over their faces scrunched in concentration, but I love how all five of us share nearly the same scrunch. I can imagine them making comments about their aging hands, yet I cherish the stories those lines tell. They are evidence of our many years together, and what a gift that is! As I look at these photos where no one was dressed up, nor any "special" event taking place, I am reminded that, like the puzzle on which we casually worked together, we are connected in a way that is unique to only us. Simply put, we made something beautiful together, and I'm no longer referring to the puzzle.
:::I love you, family!:::
