My grandmother and my aunt Carol, hiding behind the rhubarb leaves
One thing I always do when visiting my grandparents is pore through all the family albums. It's just a more elaborate kind of narcissism, I suppose, but I've always been somewhat soothed by looking at these sort of reflections out into the past.
It seems to soothe my grandma, too. She's in the early stages of dementia, and is often scared or sad, but I brought in some albums yesterday, and she and I had a lot of fun talking about her mom and dad, and her uncle Bruno (a dentist who made a set of bridgework for his elderly beagle), and the long hair my uncle Brian sported for "just a short while" in the 1970's, and how my dad's bedroom was filled with so many gadgets that it was hard to find the bed (note to grandma: nothing's changed on that front).
I've been taking pictures of some of the photos I especially like with my cell phone camera. I feel like a bit of a sneak thief, but I actually really like the look of these snapshots-of-snapshots.
Grandma in hat, on boat. My aunt Carol's there in the background.
My grandparents on the steps at camp, sometime in the late 60's. My great grandmother Erna Heininger next to my grandma. That's the top of my great-uncle Clem's head there in front of my grandpa.
Me and my dad, circa 1982 (ish?).
My sister and me. Mary's on the porch at camp. I'm smack dab in the middle of the awkward stage.
My grandma with her mother.
3 comments:
i especially like the one of Erna and Erika. Somewhere there is a picture of baby Erna, her mom and her grandmother. The last time I saw it was in VT.
wow.
when i'm there in july, you should be there too.
You have such a lovely family.
In fact, I spoke with your lovely momeester today on the phone! :)
Post a Comment