Have you ever been looking through an old photo album and saw yourself there as a little kid? Have you ever asked yourself, “What the hell happened to me?” Did you ever wonder what became of the person in the picture? What may have happened to them? Even how their life could have been different if they didn’t grow up to be you?

Then, after all that, have you ever just been lost for words? Your throat tightens and you feel sick to your stomach. You’d rather die then face reality…you grew up…

You’re not the cute little five year old in a sandbox at the park…

You’re not the seven year old who’s finally able to take the training wheels off their bike…

You’re not the twelve year old who’s screaming they’ll be officially a teenager in three more days, then trying to shut up so you won‘t look like a geek cause you‘re acting so crazy…

Nope…

You’re not even the fifteen year old who just finished drivers ed and is really hoping they’ll be able to drive their uncles ‘66 corvette, even though you know he never will…

Time is an amazing thing. Photographs preserve the very instant of a feeling. The, even more remarkable, they can carry that feeling for years…decades…a century.

The smile of a new mom holding her first son…

The yawn of a baby being rocked to sleep in a cradle…

The humor of a kid who fell asleep on the couch with a leg dangling over the edge, arms spread out, and snoring to wake the dead…

Photographs hold truths, lies, emotions, and loved ones. The picture may fade…the feeling may dim…but a memory is forever.

Hold on to your memories, no matter how painful they may be…memories make you who you are.

It took me fifteen years to figure that out…and even now, I don’t think I really understand it.