Grandmom Gallagher as a little girl, originally uploaded by cynthiacloskey.
In my mother’s family, certain photos are highly prized. One is "the hat photo" that I posted Saturday; another is this picture of my grandmother as a little girl.
I think of this photo on days like today, when all the trees and bushes are covered in blooms and the weather is warm enough for short sleeves.
At the funeral this week, I’m going to try to find out when and where this picture and the ones I posed earlier were most likely taken. At our funerals, someone also usually makes a slide show of great pictures of the deceased, and maybe I’ll be able to find a few more gems to share.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great photo. Excellent composition and color value. Whomever took that photo knew what they were doing.
I hope you are able to find more. Really makes the memories of our loved ones shine brighter.
Norm: Finding and revisiting stuff like this also emphasizes connections with the people who are still with us.
As I look at this photo, the person I think of first isn’t even my grandmother; it’s my Aunt Ruthie, who was always the one who looked most like Grandmom, and yet who had some conflicts with her. Ruthie’s alive — she’s not old; she’s the youngest of my aunts — but she’s been through some tough things, and I’m worried about her. I’m looking forward to seeing her, and at the same time I’m worried about seeing her too. Isn’t family interesting?
I love that photograph too. I know what you mean about certain photos being more prized than others. I wonder what pictures of me will still be around in sixty or seventy years.
There are so many photos of me that I don’t like, and so few that I love, I think I should make an effort to preserve and promote the great ones.
Then again, other people are always much better than oneself at recognizing which photos are the right ones.