It seems like just hours after the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are eaten (tossed) we receive our first holiday newsletter of the season. Some are form letters, others are photo cards with a quick 'Hello' and a scribble of a signature. For the past decade, I have created an annual newsletter that was initially sent via snail mail. Now, I distribute it electronically in my effort to reduce my holiday carbon footprint (save time and money).
Last year for our annual holiday photo, my musical family had a surge of creativeness and struck a pose that resembled a music album cover. This replaced my wordy newsletter that most people probably tossed or deleted. All of us decided that this would become an annual tradition. This year my family will be traveling over the holidays so we plan on assembling by a unique landmark and rock the holidays with a new edition to our annual family portrait.
As time passes, my musical family may increase or decrease in size depending on our travels. I recognize that time is fleeting and with one child in college and two more heading that way in the next few years our tribe will evolve. Hopefully, boyfriends, spouses, and dare I say, grandchildren may star in future photo productions. And now that we have a fun theme the whole family has fun in the planning process.
Photos are so important in order to recount your family traditions, travels and life journey. Photographs are typically taken at major milestones to document moments in time that you don't want to forget. When we do forget (how many of us have said, "Darn, I forgot to get a photo!") we have that memory embedded in our brains. We just hope we don't forget.
Photographs tell a story and trigger memories from our past. My childhood photos provide a window into my youth as I describe to my children who was in each photo and what we were doing. We laugh at the outlandish hairdos and time-telling wardrobe. The same happened when I was a child and my mother showed me photos from her youth.
Some cultures believe taking a photo takes a piece of the subject's soul. Whether or not that is true I do feel the spirit in a vintage photo. My photos from today will become tomorrow's history. I hope one day my children and grandchildren will see my life through my photos. Which is why it is important that we keep taking photos our first steps to our last.
What are the unique ways you take photos of your family to cherish year after year?
Tina is proud to be a Yahoo! Shine Parenting Guru. When she's not busy snapping photos she's busy typing on her blogs Parent Grapevine and Moms Who Click.
