Grandpa's Camera

    In my family, every family gathering has its consistencies.  Grandma’s dog will always meet you at the front door.  There will always be good food—and plenty of it.  There will always be some of Grandma’s sweet tea on the table, and there will always be a race to pour the first glass.  More importantly, Grandpa will always be taking pictures of everyone enjoying the family time.  

From random groups put together in the moment, to candid pictures, to big organized pictures, there was no doubt that they will all be taken at any given family gathering.  It is a Lortie tradition that at some point in time Grandpa’s red digital camera will make a celebrity appearance.  If you are lucky, you will even have the chance to sit down and look through the old pictures in the camera with Grandpa.  Holidays, birthdays, family reunions, and everything can be found in the time capsule that is Grandpa’s Camera.  With every click Grandpa has a new story for each picture.  He asks, “do you remember this?” or “look how different they look now!”

In the moment of the majority of those pictures, I was most definitely the stereotypical teenage boy; I was very reluctant to jump in any picture.  My cousins and I would do anything we could to slip out the room early so we could miss out on more pictures.  It was not until recently that I really understood why we took so many pictures.  

With everything going on in the world right now, I have had my own time to look through my own pictures.  I have looked through my Snapchat memories, different albums on my phone, and have looked through old printed pictures.  As I sifted through all these pictures, I finally understood why they were so important.  With each photo, memories of those moments rushed back to me, and I was finally able to get my mind off the madness that surrounds us. 

When was the last time we took the chance to do this?  Spend today looking through your camera roll, beginning to end.  Look through some old pictures with your parents.  Find the camera and look through it.  In this time where we may feel trapped, or that we do not have much to do, take the time to look through those memories.  Relive those moments; feel the happiness, the love, and the laughter come back.   Spend some time to appreciate the memories that your own version of Grandpa's camera captured.