Pictures of a legacy.

Eugene & I stopped by my grandma’s house last week. It was wonderful enjoying a sandwich with her, catching up, and sharing all the changes coming up in our lives too. One of my favorite things about visiting my grandma {other than the time with her} is looking at this huge collage of old pictures decopaged onto a frame hanging in her hallway. She’s had this massive frame forever {or as long as I can remember.}

And ever since I was little, I would spend countless hours just staring at each faded picture of my grandpa walking in the door from a days work, my mom and her sisters playing with doll babies {or better yet, with long beach blonde hair wearing a belly shirt in the 70s}, my beautiful grandma sunbathing in a foxy retro one-piece. I love to see old faded photos of my great grandmas – whom I’ve never met – and listen to my grandma share tales of who they were. I see & hear literal snapshots of the memories that made my mom’s family who they are today.

This is my all-time favorite picture. I think my grandpa looks so handsome & suave…

The red tinted picture in the middle below is my mom. She looks so happy there. :) And honestly, how cute is the picture of the three little girls with the wagon?!

Foxy grandma! {She’s probably gonna scold me for putting these pictures on my blog, but I really want to save them!}

My grandpa must have liked taking pictures of my grandma sunbathing, cause she’s in the one below too. With those beautiful long legs of hers, I don’t blame him!

I think the family picture below looks like a Hollywood picture. That or something from the
Brady Bunch. Love it.

My grandpa was so handsome. {I miss him.} The picture below is a great early family photo. I love looking at people’s family photos before their family was finished growing. Oh, and I love the drill team pose in the bottom right corner.

My grandma cooking. What a fun retro kitchen! I’ve got to get me one of those vintage style aprons, and this picture makes me {almost} wish I wore a dress everyday, even while doing dishes.

See, seriously handsome grandpa.

I love looking at old photographs. They tell such rich stories. Each scratch & fold on the photo, the faded colors, all serve to deepen the memory and sweeten the experience, passing it on to even someone who wasn’t born until fifty years later. There’s just something special about looking at your family {even those whom you’ve never met} through the eyes of a lens that was there that day – when it all happened. Makes you connect, feel a part of it, and long to be reunited with them someday to hear their savory stories.

I pray that this blog, and the pictures I’ve gathered and continue to amass, will someday be shared when I’m old and wrinkly. {Hopefully I look as good as my grandma does now!} I hope that there’s someone in my line interested in walking back to the days when I was younger, days before my life events folded into memories for me. I hope someone relishes old photographs and family legacies like I do. And I hope to look back at my times growing through life and in marriage and smile with joy at the scratches and fades in the photos.

Thank you, Grandma, for preserving bits of your life, bits of grandpa’s life, bits of my mom’s life and therefore my life. Catching and preserving memories and laughter in the shortest of moments so that I could relive other’s lives years – no, generations – later. How sweet it is to see glimpses of your legacy.