Things & Places: A Mere 25 Years Later

I wanted to do something special for my Mom for Christmas so my sister and I spent several lonnnngggggg nights organizing over twenty-five years of our family’s photos. I know that sounds like a big feat (and trust me, it was) but most nights we spent laughing until we cried from hilarious hair-do’s, facial expressions, hideous (but trendy at the time) clothing, school pictures, and things we thought were the absolute best as kids like turtles – both real and Ninja, lady bugs, Mavis Vanessa (my cabbage patch doll), baby chickens at the farm, Walter (my sisters ratty stuffed dog she used to carry around), 101 Dalmatian pajamas, twisty straws, John Deere tricycles, Barbie’s and the humongous Barbie doll house my Dad built for us, and the salamanders that lived in our window wells. These precious memories have been stashed away in old albums and shoe boxes for years just waiting for someone to come along, organize them, and put them into leather-bound albums.

We started with the early years — somewhere between 1979-1985 BK (before kids). Oh, those were the days. Dad rocked a mustache, short shorts, Mom’s home-made t- shirts, and at times a frayed cowboy hat while my Mom sported Farrah Fawcett hair, hot-colored t-shirts, and big sunglasses. We found pictures from their college days, Disneyland, Dad’s semester of summer school in Oregon, and even their honeymoon to Lake Tahoe. As we continued to look through their travels I started recognizing places that I had been and thought it would be fun to compile their pictures and compare them with my own.

Carson Mansion – Eureka, CA: 1983	Carson Mansion – Eureka, CA: 2010
Paul Bunyon & Babe the Blue Ox: 1984	Paul Bunyon & Babe the Blue Ox: 2010
Lower Yellowstone Falls: 1984	Lower Yellowstone Falls: 2007
Haystack Rock (side view) – Cannon Beach, OR: 1984	Haystack Rock – Cannon Beach, OR: 2009
Mom & I: 1986	Mom & I: 2010

A mere twenty-five years later and I can honestly say that things really haven’t changed much — the pictures are a little clearer but all the places look recognizably the same and I’m still smiling when I’m by my mom’s side.

A few thoughts to ponder…

Have you ever thought about who your parents were when they were your age? In their younger days my parents were trendy, active, hard-working, and fun! When I was younger the word “fun” is one of the last words I would’ve used to describe my parents. There were many times when I thought my parents were strict, worry-warts who could not possibly understand what I was going through. Now that I’m older and oh so much wiser (did I mention I turn 25 tomorrow?) I know that I was SO terribly wrong.

My parents were (are) reasonable and probably understood exactly what I was going through because they had likely been in that situation before and either (a) made the right decision or (b) made the wrong decision and learned from it.  They are easily my main source of advice and over the years I have discovered that they are, in fact, still fun! The funniest part about all of this? I came home for Christmas and my brother asked to go snowmobiling for the day. Five o’clock rolls around and who do you think is the first person to ask if he’s checked in yet? ME! Oh dear god, this is the moment I realized that I am slowly becoming my parents. But even bigger than that? This is the moment I realized I am slowly becoming my parents and I couldn’t be happier because they are two of the most amazing people I know. Thank you for helping me become to person I am today. I love you.

How have your parents helped you become who you are today?