Somebody else's photos

When we moved here in 2005, we didn't bring much with us. We gave away or sold most of our furniture, stored some things in our parents' garages, and packed 10 big boxes of stuff to bring over. Most of that was clothes and books. The only furniture we brought with us was Ava's crib and a big comfy rocking chair that I loved. Over the years, we've furnished our house with Ikea purchases, garage sale finds and even a little curbside shopping. (Read about some great finds here.) And although I miss my big comfy armchair that I had back in Dallas, and our dining room table, I haven't really thought about it much.

One thing that we don't have much of here is photos from our childhoods. Most of those are still with our parents, and every now and then it strikes me that I really need to get them to send me some. Take photos of the photos or something. Hmmm, I probably should've thought of that when we were there...oh, 6 weeks ago. Sheesh. I need a personal assistant or something. I do have a few of my childhood. I had my mom send me this one when I realized how much I looked like Grace as a baby:Nakey baby alert! Anyway, I was pleased to see that Jason brought back a stack of photos from his parents with him when he arrived a couple of weeks ago. I think one of my projects for next year (ha! as if I'm that organized!) is gonna be to get some of our photos together. The kids love to see them, and so do we.

I hope you'll indulge me in posting some of these...but hey, it is a personal blog, right? And what could be more personal? Plus, hey! I'm blogging everyday--yay! Here's a great one of Jason's parents at their wedding: Love it! Look at that veil--so pretty, I think. And her hair! How did she get it to go so high without the benefit of a bumpit?? There must be some sort of canned good hiding in there or something.

I loved this one of Jason, too...I see him still make this intent, determined expression all the time.Of course, now expressions like this are not usually directed at sand castles, but at Grace when she is screaming and pounding her tiny fists into the floor. Or when he is on the phone with our internet service provider, trying to get a better deal. Nate makes this face, too.

Jason and I met because he transferred to our university to be a part of the swimming and diving team. He began diving when he was 12 (I think?). It was such a central aspect of his life when we met, and long before. (By the way, he's asleep right now...I hope he doesn't mind me posting these. "Hey babe, I put your speedo-ed butt on the interwebs!")

Boring! Like, I can totally do that. No really, photos from my life at this stage wouldn't be nearly as interesting. "Um, here I am at the school spelling bee. Here's me at the spelling bee the following year." "Here I am, about to finish a Star Trek: The Next Generation novel." I mean, I did stuff...it just didn't photograph as well.

I need to do a better job of keeping up with old photos of us. I remember as a child, looking at my parent's pictures. It's probably time we had some of ours as well. This probably sounds weird...in my mind, that's one of the things that signifies you're a grownup big person--that your parents don't hang on to all that stuff for you anymore. I mean of course they have it too, but at some stage it needs to be yours, too. Mom, that does not mean I want you to send me all my high school essays. Or that cat lifestyle magazine Betsy and I made that one time. Some things are better left hidden away forever.

What signifies "grownupness" to you? Please, I could use the help.