Lineage

My beautiful, delicate, sweet grandmother passed away recently. While cleaning out her things my mother and me found a bag of photos ranging from current to before the 60s. So thankful she wrote on the back of most of them. Her handwriting dated her black and white 4th grade school portraits to random family gathering with great family members I have never even heard of, much less met. My mother vaguely remembered some of them from when she herself was a child. There are many we have questions about. I think we sat in that silent living room for over a hour, breaking from the emotional mundane task that lead to that treasure find. Stories from my mother organically started about the past. Her childhood and what she knew of my grandmothers. And the lack of knowledge in some left hanging stagnate in our minds that we wished we could ask grandma about, an opportunity lost. But I walked away from that day with my grandma's 8th grade childhood portrait, my mothers highschool glamour shot, my grandparents wedding day, a old photograph of me and my parents when they were together on the beach they took me to as a child in a time I don't remember. Adding to my own collections of printed portraits that are priceless. Someday my children who loved and adored her will find these mingled in with our own and be in aw thinking back to the dates in her writing.