My parents, were really good at capturing our moments growing up. Especially my mom. She was always behind a camera or camcorder capturing a moment somewhere. There’s barely a picture in the house with her in it because she was almost always the one behind it. I am particularly thankful that she had the foresight to film our “everyday moments”, like me and my sisters just playing outside or being goofballs. We have a lot of funny videos! My sisters and I spent A LOT of time watching, rewinding, and watching over and over again our memories. We laughed a lot together. It was awesome. Needless to say, my mom is awesome. She was so diligent in recording our life and capturing our memories.
That’s where I get it. My sister Kristen has this talent, too. We both took photography when we were kids. We’ve had a disposable camera, camera phone or DSLR near us at any given moment for the better half of our existence. We love capturing moments the same way our mom did for us.
I think I got that from her. I was obsessed with cameras from the time I was a toddler. My mom and dad filmed darn near everything. Birthdays, family reunions, family outings, the funniest moments of our life and many many everyday moments… Growing up I was always wanting to just capture moments so I could keep them forever; sunsets, breathtaking landscapes, moments where I felt the sweetness of peace and joyful bliss, and especially those precious moments and memories made with my family. When I was 10 I got my wish. My dad gave me my very first camera. I was SO excited! It was SOOO fancy (not really haha!) It was one of those cheap dispensable Kodak cameras. But to me it was the best camera in the world. Me and my sisters each got one right before our first (and only) trip to Disneyland so that we could capture the magic and wonderment of childhood and the memories of that family trip through our own eyes. My dad is awesome. All four of us girls very quickly filled up each one of those cameras. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. We didn’t stop taking pictures when we got home from Disneyland, either. I cannot count how many times my dad took handfuls of film to be developed. He just chuckled every time we’d say we had more for him to get developed.
So now we’re all grown up, and well, at least tow of us still have an obsession with capturing life, moments, and memories. The camera’s have changed and our focus has shifted slightly in what we choose to focus our lenses on, but we can’t help but be our parent’s daughters. We’re life documentors. Always have been, always will be.
So as the story continues to evolve, here I am, left with plenty of time on my hands to think about what my parents did to make my childhood great and to leave me and my sisters something good to remember. If there is anything I’ve learned in the last few years with battling chronic illness and bouts of depression, it’s that they have a way of stealing time from us. They steal away our life by way of opportunities, being able to enjoy the company and time with our loved ones, and missing out on feeling the joy of a precious moment. That’s what feeling sick or withdrawn does to a person. I can’t count how many times I have mourned that fact that I am ever present with my children, but oh so emotionally with drawn at times. I’m functional, but am at times unable to draw myself out of the feelings of darkness to experience the wonder of a moment. It’s like having your emotions being turned all the way to “sad” and when a happy moment comes, you are unable to be in that moment even though you are right there because your emotions are stuck on “sad” when they should be able to turn to “happy” for at least the good moments.
The times when I am feeling ill, I am sluggish at best. I have to slow down everything in my life and rest often. I can function then, too, but I can’t get up and enjoy my life, either, or at best, it’s very difficult. I am one of those people who likes to play with my kids. These are the precious years. They are still small and one reasons I love being a mom is because they help me remember the joy that comes so naturally from being so young and full of goodness and free of worry. Surely there is so much more to the Savior’s teachings concerning becoming like a little child than most of us give thought to. my children remind me to love the small things and find joy in simple and ordinary ways. Dance like nobody’s watching, suddenly burst out in song, smile because you can.
Time is not on our side. Life is short. My particular challenges in life have really helped me to see the importance of determining priorities and then focusing our attention and energy on them. For me, my family, especially my marriage and my motherhood, and my faith are at the tip top of my list. I feel like so much of life (no matter who you are or what your circumstances) pull at us from so many different directions that these things are often either taken for granted or forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the overly busy lifestyle of today’s world. Why do we give the least amount of attention to the things that matter most?
