The Photo Albums

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

Their stories long to be released from the adhesive photo album sheets now turned brown from time. Today I spent several hours pouring over them with my mom and dad-in-laws. There were pictures of aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, siblings, and many whose lives started way back into the past two centuries. I heard stories of births, deaths, divorces, accomplishments, dreams come true, and some dreams gone poorly.

The pictures were still. The stories were not. Death may take a person’s life but it does not take their story.

I’m reminded again of how we inherently want to know who we are and from where we come. We love to see pictures of ourselves and our children in grandparents’ albums and see that even our lives are a part of their tapestry!

The pictures and the albums are treasures and the stories are priceless.

I’m also wondering if my children and theirs will have the same rich experience watching family history in digital format on my laptop. There’s just something about those golden-brown albums.(Photos by doeth, Joe Shlabotnik, shared via Flickr)