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Crazy as a Loom

Thursday, December 20, 2012

A little reminiscing.



I am not much into Christmas morning events, since I don't have little kids at home.  So DH and I tell each other what we would like, and usually it's one nice thing.   I got him a remote starter for his truck, which he already had installed to beat the after Christmas rush.
So, it was only fair that I get to have my present when it was delivered to the back door.

I got a Canon scanner, I saved myself a lot of trouble googling to find out which one to buy, since KATE over at Chronicles of a Country Girl had already done such an awesome job of selling it a while back.
I tried to download the setup onto my MacPro a few nights ago.  No go.  Sometimes, though I love my Mac, it is a pain you know where.  It is especially a pain when you are trying to get it to do what it does not want to do.
Anyway, last night, I was going to load it onto  the desktop that DH uses, but the thought of crawling around down on the floor to find the plug, and move plugs around, to make room, well, it wasn't very appealing.
So I gave the Mac another shot.
And lo, and behold, it worked like a charm.

Up to the attic to get a box of pictures.  You know what you're in for, right?
Oh, there will be stories to go along.  For sure.

I have to start with one of my favorite pictures of all, my three girls at Stonehenge.
Have I ever mentioned that they are the best thing that ever happened to me??
Holly, Morgan, Brooke.
I will always be the luckiest Mom ever.


I bet Sandy Hook has made every Mom everywhere stop and treasure her children.
To even imagine losing them at such a tender age is incomprehensible.
And yet, back in the day, our ancestors lost children so often, and so easily.  From a cold, an ear ache, sicknesses that today just keep them watching cartoons for a couple of days.

This is my grandmother.  Vivien. She was ahead of her time, driving a Model T around town when women just didn't much do that.
Her mother died when she was a teenager, and she brought up her younger siblings, with not much help from her hard drinking father.
In the cemetery, there were already a row of babies, her sisters and brothers that didn't make it past toddlerhood.

It has been said that I am very much like her, and her only son, my father.

Here I am, 25 years ago......when I still permed my hair.  Ha!  Makes me laugh.
I also laugh because I remember how stressed I was back then, and how much drama there was in my life.  That I allowed.  My expression says it all.

So many things have changed with getting older.
It's not all bad, ya know.  It really isn't.
It's just not what I expected, which makes it my "new normal".
And it's fine.  Just fine. 
I am grateful for all of it.

11 comments:

DJan said...

What great, great pictures! So glad that the scanner finally worked and I got to see these pictures. I am loving your blog and enjoying sharing your wonderful and crazy life, Hilary. :-)

Daryl said...

what fun looking back can be ...

Hilary said...

Oh I love these. And yes, despite your recent woes, your face is far more relaxed these days. I can see a bit of a resemblance between you and your grandmother.

Connie in Hartwood said...

Thank you for sharing these!! Scanning old photos and negatives is also on my list of things to do in the near future.

Country Gal said...

Nice ! Glad the scanner worked for you ! We have a printer scanner in one they are awesome , it is nice to kind of reprint if you will old photos ! Have a good day !

Susan said...

I sometimes have to repeat over and over that I'm 62 because, like you, growing old has not been that bad. However, I look back at old photos of my grandparents and they look so much older. The youngest in my dad's family only lived to 18 months and I had a cousin (in the 50s) who died of a staph infection before penicillin when she was a teenager. I guess I can look back and see the more we come up with remedies, the more mankind comes up with ways to destroy. I weep with those families over losing a child--something I would have never thought I'd go through. May we all find some peace and knowledge to make this world a better place in the New Year, XOXO

Loomatic said...

When I was young, I never understood when my Mom said "youth is wasted on the young".

Now I am older and I understand. I too have realized somethings need to be let go and it was a hard lesson to learn.

Glad you got a nice scanner. What fun you will have going through all the memories.

Sue said...

I was an adult when I learned that my mom had an older sister who died from blood poisoning as a kid (caught her arm in the mangle of the washing machine). No penicillin.

I lost a daughter too early, but at least I got to enjoy her for almost 22 years first. Losing a kid is the worst.

Anonymous said...

Your daughters are beautiful! So are you even though you looked a tad stressed

Susan said...

My mother's name was Vivien just like your grandmother. Its very unusual to spell it that way. (Normally its Vivienne)

You seem to reach a time and place when all the old pictures have an even deeper meaning. You can't teach it, or share it with the youngsters. Everyone has to find it on their own time schedule...and you are clearly there!

Susan

messymimi said...

Zen computer repair -- turn it off, turn it back on, or try again later. It usually works.

Getting older has many bonuses, one of which is learning not to stress so much.

Welcome to my world.

Because every thread counts

Because every thread counts