My girls turned 13 a few months ago. For "milestone" birthdays, I usually create a slideshow of their favorite songs and images I've taken of them over the years. It's become something I look forward to doing and something they end up watching over and over again.
This year, I didn't get it done in time for their birthday unfortunately and just "unveiled" it last night. We watched it together as a family, laughing and talking about each image as it popped up. This one was a fav of everyone, which seems kind of mean unless you know that my daughter on the left cried in at least half of the pictures I took of her the first year.
Why was she crying?? Who knows! She was a poster child for the "reasons why my kid is crying" books/websites. The good news is that she turned into a very happy toddler/child and a pretty mellow teenager, overall.
What I thought about the most last night, as we were watching the slideshow, was how every image had a story.
We had to hit "pause" repeatedly to talk and laugh about the image on the screen and the story that accompanied it. It was a wonderful way for our family to connect over the shared experiences we've had and remind each other of the little details we'd forgotten.
These little details are what make up our family's story and the photographs are an integral part of that, helping us remember our past.
So take a ton of pictures of your family...but don't forget to take them out every once in a while and look at them...and laugh and cry and tell stories about that time when...well, you get the picture!
If you need someone to help tell your family's story, you know who to call!!