We got back in touch after decades – a bunch of cousins who had shared some delightful vacations.
It is a Whatsapp group, adorned by a pic of our grandparents. We named it “Sepia Tints to Ammonia Prints”, to symbolize a movement from past to future. It feels worthwhile to see achievements being shared, along with memories of our pranks. The unsavoury interactions are carefully concealed.
Yesterday, my cousin shared an old album.
“I’m scanning the pictures, but feel unsure of the things to be eliminated.”
Life is always a mix of good and bad. To make a choice remains difficult.
Creative Experiments and More 
A good story of reality, Reena. Sometimes you can also know too much. My mother made me her confident about some people we knew and those skeletons will be buried with me. I refuse to burden my children or anyone else with them. —- Suzanne
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Those things are so sensitive at times, especially at an early age. I’d learnt in school, that my aunt had been widowed at 16, and then remarried. Every time I saw her, I’d visualize the scene of her first husband’s untimely death as described by my mother, and it was distressing.
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Life is certainly a mixed bag, Reena. Intriguing story. It raises the issue of washing our history before presenting it. Tought-provoking.
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Thank you so much, Brenda!
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That last line totally hit me and made me think of the power photos have always had on us.
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We forget that a photo is just a frozen moment, not flowing reality.
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Who decides to eliminate the past, which once gone is lost forever. This is how history can be corrupted.
A well observed.
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Thank you, James!
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My folks have loads of photos and I have tens of thousands of digital photos, this blog and a shed load of records and cds, i often wonder if the kids will keep them, i’m hoping the music will go to my son. Good story, its made me think
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Think of the huge amount spent on wedding/prenuptial/maternity photoshoots and videography. Teams are flown down from other cities or countries, to record the event. Do we ourselves see those after a couple of years?
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How much do we save. And will our kids want them? Have the same problem here.
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Before quitting a job, I’ve deleted a lot of files – treasured knowledge inputs at one stage. I felt so stupid – why did I put in so much effort hoarding those? I still store a lot – on different subjects of course…
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Very moving story. I’ve scanned most of our pictures, now. With no one to pass them down to, I often question why I even bother to keep them at all…. still, I just can’t bear to trash them, yet. It is a difficult decision.
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You raise a pertinent question – who would want it? I often think at what stage of life should I delete my blogs and online profiles.
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That, too, is a good question.
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Those last two sentences describe the quandary we’re in if we try to overlook the bad and pretend it didn’t happen.
Loved your story, Reena.
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Very well-written, Reena. You covered a lot of territory in this.
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Thank you so much, Lisa!
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You’re welcome.
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Keep them or bin them, the memories will linger on.
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Hmmm… they can change form, and alter the impact.
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Lovely! Evocative. Thought provoking! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Na’ama!
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You’re welcome!
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Families are complicated things, I like that you mixed the good with the bad.
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Thank you, Iain! Any set-up with a conflict of interests – inheritance, shared assets etc. gets complicated. To top it all, expectations are higher than we have from others.
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Well said. Life is a mixture of good and bad.
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And we cannot escape either… Thanks for dropping by, Dakshali!
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Yeah…no one can if they want to be.
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Tough call. Photographs have the power to remind us the past was real. Well done.
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Thank you so much!
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This is especially prevalent in the digital age where we can immediately delete any image we don’t like. As you say, editing the past. Interesting and thoughtful story Reena
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Thank you, Lynn!
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My pleasure
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Great idea! Best wishes, Michael
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I love the idea and the danger of editing the past
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I guess we do it all the time. What we remember is an edited version of reality.
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