The Power of a Single Picture

My beloved Gramps would have been 97 years old this week. I have very few pictures of him but this one sits on my desk and brings a smile to my face each and every day.

Although it was taken 30 years ago, is grainy and has torn edges this photo has the power to bring back a flood of cherished memories. 

I can go back in time to summer days sitting with my Gramps under his apple tree deep in conversation about life and all the lessons he learned growing up as the oldest of 14 kids.

I can go back to him driving 20 miles under the speed limit in his old Ford truck wondering why people were always in such a hurry.

I can go back to early mornings at his kitchen table drinking coffee and talking about how proud he was of my dad and how much he loved his family.

I can go back to his last week when we took him to get a haircut and he announced to a very packed lobby that this was his last haircut because he was dying, which got him straight to the front of the line!

I can even go back to the night my sister and I got to take care of him in his last few hours. It was heartbreaking but such an honor at the same time.

It has been 21 years since I've made a single memory WITH my Grandpa but this picture carries all of the most important stories and allows me to share him with my children. You would never know they didn't have the chance to meet him because they feel like they know him thanks to this picture and stories that belong to them now too. 

I'm sure you have stories and pictures of your loved ones just like mine.  

So print a few pictures and tell a few stories to keep their memory alive. It can be incredibly healing and you never know how it will impact future generations. 

All the best, 
Melissa