Blast from the Past

"Everyone hold still while Susie adjusts all the settings manually on her camera!" was not an uncommon request at family gatherings while I was growing up.  My mom was often found with a 35mm Pentax in hand, documenting family gatherings and vacations, while attempting to keep track of four bustling children. 

And there was a certain excitement that sparked in our home whenever my dad would go down to the garage and pull out the slide projector.  We knew what the evening ahead held in store for us - a night of beautiful images and stories of mountaineering in the Canadian Rockies, or reminiscing of days spent in Austria. And we were excited.

I could write a dozen novels about the things that I have learned from my parents.  They have been wonderful examples to me of the type of person that I should be and the things that I should strive to achieve.  And they have taught me to document my life well.  Every birthday, every piano recital, every family vacation, and every Christmas (complete with Santa picture and Christmas morning stair picture!) has been well documented in my life, and I am grateful for that.  And how exciting is it going to be when I have kids of my own, and I can show them all of the wonderful things I have been able to experience!

So mom and dad, thanks for all the memories, and thanks for documenting them so I can relive them for years to come.