My Family...Back Then

I have this photo hanging up in our house. It's my family, taken circa 1968, possibly around Christmas or maybe early 1969. I'm the cute kid on the left. I was probably three-years old.

Since my parents are gone, I think about them often. My mom lived through her children's teenage years, and beyond. My dad never got the chance. I used to wonder what my dad would think of modern events. For example, what would he have thought about the internet, or personal computers. I don't think about that very often now because he, being born in 1924, would be ninety-six years old today and the odds say he'd be gone before now, anyway. He might have seen the Internet Age, but not a world shut down because of a virus.

My mom lived into her seventies. She saw her kids grow, get married, and have kids of their own. She was a wife, mother, and grandmother, and I believe loved each title.

When I see this picture, I think of all that's passed, all that's happened. My dad, having survived the Great Depression, a broken family, enlisting and seeing combat in WWII, earning an engineering degree and securing a good job, would only live a few years after this picture was taken. I've outlived my father by half a decade--that's a strange thought. I've seen my kids grow (no grandkids yet, though...). I'm seeing things and living through things he might not have been able to fathom, advances in every science, every technology, and billions living better lives because of it.

Back then, my parents sat with their three little miracles, three children from three different mothers and fathers, adopted into a new unit. They were the Taylors and for a split second, we all stared at the photographer and smiled (except for my sister...). So many experiences to come, so many joys, so many tears, triumphs, tragedies. I love this picture because it shows unlimited potential...the ultimate "before" shot, so much happiness.

Hence, the power of memories, and the images that release them.