This past weekend I came across this photo of my son and his good friend Christopher. Coby and Christopher met as kindergarteners 9 years ago. In kindergarten they discovered that not only did they share the same birthday but were born within an hour of each other at the same hospital!

In one week these two boys will be graduating from 8th grade. In their 9 years together they have celebrated five birthdays together, had dozens of sleepovers, played on the same football and basketball teams, both been suspended the same day (not our proudest moment) both won 1st place in the school speech contest (different years) and will be heading to the same high school in 3+ months.

Graduation is next Friday, and Christopher’s’ mom and I are planning on capturing a photo with this same pose of the boys. The differences in the boys will be many but the sincerity and genuineness of their friendship will be exactly the same.  It is nice to know that some things do not change!

This has always been one of my favorite photos. It had been in a glue-based photo album forever, and part of this process to save and share photos is to gather photos from wherever they are stored and tell their stories. I am so glad I did this because here is what I discovered – my grandma’s handwriting on the back of this photo and it is in Croatian. I was so excited to see this and asked my good friend Gordana, to translate for me – and here is what it reads: Jimoga’s kids when they were with us this summer.

I am just thrilled with this discovery. My Grandma passed 20+ years ago but this makes me feel like she is right here with me. My Grandma and Grandpa frequently spoke in their first language, Croatian, especially when they argued. That is not a bad memory, but a fond one of who they were as my grandma and grandpa and as husband and wife.

My dad’s name is Jim, but I think next time I see him I might just call him Jimoga and see how he reacts. Keep in mind this discovery and with it the lesson to always look on the back of your photos. Usually you will discover dates, names, and maybe a location, however, you might also discover handwriting in a different language, an unknown story, or a love note. Promise to start looking through your old photos – and share what you find with your family, friends or me!

It is pretty clear what is going on in this photo – my sister joined our family in 11/69.  Look at how tiny she is compared to Rick and I.  We are five and four, and look quite pleased, but it may be more because of that clever sign we made then understanding what it was going to be like with a baby in the house.  Look at my mom. She looks very stylish and put together in this photo; yet I cannot imagine that she has been home from the hospital for anymore than a couple of days.  I am not sure I had my hair and makeup applied after I had my first baby until about three months later – and that is only because I was going back to work!

The name of the toy used to make this sign is escaping me, yet I really want to know what it is.  It is a pretty cool thing and it makes me wonder why simple educational toys like that disappeared. I am sure my dad helped us with the spelling, but the color pattern is clearly our doing.  If anyone who reads this knows the name of the toy please share!

I am very thankful that someone wrote the date on this photo – 1948. My mom is eight or close to it in this photo.  I am going to guess that she is on this horse with Marianne. I love the perspective of this photo – the horse looks giant, almost oddly so.  The girls look happy and they both appear to have dresses on, but bundled up for a cold day of riding.  It is a simple moment like this that we click away on the camera.  I loved horses growing up, my daughter, not so much.  Regardless, I have a photo like this of her, sitting on a horse.

When I find older photos like this that are of my mom with her siblings it makes me think of my mom in a different light.  She was once a little girl that rode horses and played with dolls.  I like that picture.  The stories that my mom tells us mostly start with her in college, or her summers working in the cannery.  I will see my mom in a couple weeks – I am going to see what I can find out about her early memories – maybe in a shoebox I will find a photo of that story!

Today I reached a bit farther back in the shoebox and pulled this from 1945. I included the back of the photo because of the names and handwriting. Scanning the back of photos should not be forgotten…a lot of times there is crucial info for storytelling. Anyway, this is my mom, the oldest of 9 children, and her two sisters, who are now both deceased, Marianne and Therese. This photo was on super thin paper and very faded. I manipulated to give it a bit of contrast, but in all honesty for a photo that is almost 70 years old it was not looking too bad.

Notice the matching dresses and shoes – all three girls are dressed identically. I wonder how long my Grandma dressed them the same. Clearly a posed photo and all girls are looking at the photographer. It is fun to wonder what they were talking about or where this photo was taken. The bench and what looks like a backdrop lead me to believe a studio. Just for fun I also included the most popular camera from 1945 – probably what this photo was taken with!

Clearly this is a photo celebrating a birthday…right? But whose birthday is it?  Or is it a birthday party we attended for a neighbor or a relative. The backyard does not look familiar, we did not have a fenced backyard – we had a forest as a backyard (per my memory). My brother and I look equally pleased and the hand around the shoulder does not look forced (can you imaging the picture taker saying – “Rick, put your arm around Rita”) for some reason I hear that but it looks so natural that maybe he did it on his own. My mom also looks pleased and relaxed in this photo, so either it is the end of the party or it has not yet started.  I looked closely at the decoration around my neck but could not make out what it was – I thought maybe a birthday girl ‘medal’ but even a zoom in of 600% did not help. What I do know is we look happy and I love the joy in all of our smiles!

This is my Aunt Therese and Uncle Fred. Aunt Therese was my Godmother. In the Catholic religion, when you are baptized, your parents choose Godparents for you. The idea is that your Godparents also help guide you in your religious life and choices. I do not really know what this is all about – but it is a tradition nevertheless and I was lucky to have Aunt Therese as my Godmother. Aunt T & Uncle F lived in California so we saw them maybe once or twice a year, but those were always fun times filled with good memories.

About 4 years ago Aunt Therese was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. If you follow this blog you might remember this is also what my Grandpa died of – and I will share with you now I have another Aunt who also died of this disease. Unfortunately, it seems that my mom’s side of the family carries a gene that puts them at a high risk for getting ALS.

Today my mom told me that her sister, Aunt Therese had died. She had been bedridden for close to four weeks and it is a blessing to have the suffering gone and her soul with God. Her immediate family, my cousins Lisa & Lynn, their children and my uncle Fred were with her when she passed. I wanted to post this today because it was fresh on my mind and my way to say goodbye. You fought a cruel battle, one you knew you would not win, with grace and courage. Thank you for being in my life.

Love, Rita

Winter of 1968. I believe this is taken in the backyard of house #1. I am pretty sure that shed is my key clue. We lived in Seattle, so this looks like a lot of snow for that part of Washington state.  My brother and I are four and three, respectively.

Observations – I think Rick looks really happy with this snowman. He also appears to be bundled up and toasty warm.  Notice he has boots, mittens and a coat that looks plenty warm. I will be the first to admit I might be a bit biased but take note; I have tennis shoes on, no mittens, and it might just be me but my coat looks a little small. I wonder if that is why I appear slightly stiff and possible partially frozen.

The snowman is very funny…someone needed to teach us to roll and stack – instead it looks like we made a large cone and decorated it with three rocks. I am not sure what is defining the snowman’s head, but it looks like a stick to me.

Embrace your memories and look closely at your photos – I am most certain they will make you smile. As I type this that is exactly what I’m doing!

If I can remember anything about house #1 it is that the backyard was a forest that went on forever. Trees as tall as the sky. I doubt that our yard in Seattle was really that expansive, but to a young child that is my memory. It is for that reason, that I love this photo – it confirms my memory and I do not want that memory challenged.

I am almost two in this photo – I appreciate the date stamp on the front. Wish all photo developing processes had kept the white border with the dates. I believe I have a semi-smug look on my face – did I just accomplish a new skill? Or do I enjoy being in a photo all by myself?  his photo just puts a smile on my face.  Find a favorite photo from your childhood and share it with someone – tell them your story.

This is my mom. If you read yesterday’s post you will probably agree with me that this indeed was a visit to the beach and my parents took each other’s photo. I assume most people can relate to this – a nice walk on the beach, a beautiful day, let’s take a photo of each other. With digital one would hold the camera with your arm outstretched and both of you would lean together and pose, not an option in the 60′s…not an option until the late 90′s. I like that they decided to take the photos of each other – I think it will prove to be a rare find for the next 20+ years – when the photos become about everything else in life. Maybe that is worth thinking about – make sure you have photos of yourself, you may not see the value in it but others will.