Mother pulled out old photos this morning. There was one of me holding my baby brother in my arms. The funny thing is I remembered the day. It was spring and we were on the front porch of our house. They were taking photos of the baby. I was feeling left out. There was a picture of Mother holding Donnie in her arms with me peeking around the corner of the metal porch chair. I looked forlorn. Then they must have realized that I felt left out, because I was allowed to hold my brother in my four year old arms to have our picture taken.
These were real snap shots, but I had snap shots in my mind as well. Another photo earlier than the one with my little brother was of me as a three year old sitting on my Lewis grandparents steps with my feet out stretched. I remember saying, "look at my new shoes." I had on new Stride Rite red T strap shoes. Remembering that early age another picture comes to mind. That was of my brother running down the driveway crying as our cat chased him. The cat would leap and grab hold of his diapers swinging back and forth. He was truly terrified by that cat.
Snap shots in our minds.....After I had polio and was home. I remember learning to walk with crutches. This was an adventure. Although in the beginning I had braces on both my legs and a corset on my back I remember being able to swing off a curb. I felt like I was flying. I was the poster child for the march of dimes in the Norfolk, Va. area when I was six or seven. There was a picture of me walking with crutches that was blown up to life size and it appeared in a window of a store on the main street in downtown. For years we kept this in our garage.
There were pictures of me as a young child with a curly new perm. Dad
would give mom a perm (good for Dad) and Mom would give one to me at the
same time. Oh, that did smell bad. That photo looked so much like my
grandson looked at the same age, if you discount my frizzy perm. I
remember being so embarrassed when I did get a perm. One day my hair was straight and the next. Oh, my.
Friends of my grandmother, Nana, would come up to me on the street and say, "You look so much like your grandmother." I never understood this until much later after she had died. One day I found a photo that looked like it was of me in a funny outfit. I never remembered that photo being taken. After doing a double take I realized that the photo was too old to have been of me. It was taken of my grandmother at about age twelve. I did look so much like her at that same age that I almost was fooled myself.
When we look back at photos it not only tells the stories of our lives, but it helps us to remember the little things. There is one photo of me at about ten dressed in my mother's graduation white formal dress. My friend, Edith, was having a birthday party. A lawn party, we were to come dressed up in our mother's clothes. I felt grown up and beautiful in mom's lovely dress. It was one of the nicest parties that I remember. It was such fun pretending to be grown up.
Another photo that she uncovered was one of myself and three other friends all dressed up ready to go to the one of our first dances. I went to the dances.and I even attempted to dance. I could manage the slow dances, but the fast ones were just too much, but I did enjoy them all.
Of course, the photos of the family always brings back the memories of those gone. Oh how we loved them.
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