All these small things seem to have fallen to the wayside with technology. Basically everyone shoots with some form of digital camera. Although the demand for actual books is still there, many people (myself included) now read e-books on some sort of electronic devices. It's had to find film for an old camera. And although it's fairly easy to get prints made of our digital pictures, many of us fail to do this. We just have pictures sitting on our computer, and most will never been seen as prints.
This is a travesty to ourselves and our kids.
My parents have photo album after photo album of pictures from my childhood. Actual printed 4x6 photographs stuffed lovingly in plastic contained in a 3 ring binder. I love being able to look at those pictures. They are memories of good times I remember, good times I've forgotten, and times I can't remember because I was too young. They are my life and childhood wrapped up in photographs.
These photos show how much I've grown and changed throughout the years. They show the horrible fashion trends (and sometimes good ones). They show different hair styles and cuts (the good and the very, very bad). They show my sports, schools, and hobbies. I love them! And my kids love looking at them.
And it pains me to say, my kids do not have the same thing. I have a baby photo book of each of my kids. It catalogs their first days, but that's it. I have no printed photographs of the random play times we had, my 'helpers' when I baked, the arts and crafts we made, swim lessons, sports, first days of school, etc.
I have the digital copies of all of the photos on my computer, but no actual printed pictures.
And this is sad.
My kids have no memories to look back on in albums. They don't have pictures to flip through and remember all the fun times with Mom and Dad. I can't whip out and album and say, "Look, I think Cassidy looks like (insert child's name) when he was that age." I don't have any of that because all of my memories and still shots of their childhood are sitting on a hard drive.
I am making a change this year (and have actually started this change!). I am making photo albums of all the stuff our family has done throughout the years. A book for ever year. And I am going to be more diligent about printing photos.
I want my kids to be able to grab a photo album and look back on their childhood. Not have to sit in front of a computer to do it. I want the hard printed pictures. Will it take up extra space? Yes. Will it cost money to print? Yes. Will it be worth it? Definitely!
I challenge you to think about all the pictures you have sitting on your hard drive and phone. And if you're like me and haven't printed any of them, do it. Print your photographs. Give your kids their memories in a tangible item they'll cherish forever. It'll be worth it in the end, and your kids will forever love you for it.
And just because I can, here are a couple pictures I scanned from my childhood. (Sorry Matt, but you're in these too!)
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