Do you ever
have a moment when something taps you on the shoulder to remind you life is
passing by so quickly?
I do….like
when my daughter Dempsey leans up against my back, trying to point out that she’s
almost taller than me….or my twin nieces who do this too….who now are taller!
And I know
we can’t somehow hit the ‘pause’ button on life, but we can at least try and trick
the clock…we can freeze it for another day!
But how do we
stop time.....with a
photograph!
We can’t hit
the pause button, but we do have a save button.
Save for later….save for a time when we may need some laughter, or
tears. Or a time when we need to return
to a moment otherwise gone forever…….
And this
week I’ve had a few reminders to take more photos…to capture precious moments
that can be forgotton. You see Dempsey
got a guitar for Xmas. She already plays
the French Horn, Trumpet annddd piano, (which she wont play in front of
me!). So you can imagine my hesitation when
she announced she wanted a guitar. But
Xmas morning, in a shiny black padded case, she was gifted one. A good one!
One that should last forever.
Xmas
morning, I sat on the sofa with my steaming mug of tea, watching her awkwardly
hold and strum it. She’s got a long way
to go I thought to myself. Even if she
will get a few lessons in her music class at school.....
But this week, as
I grabbed her bedroom door handle to tell her dinner was ready, I could hear
music drifting out from under her door. I stood silent like a stalker and listened. I listened and I smiled!
And I got
goosebumps!
Through the
door, I could hear her strumming her guitar, in tune, and singing…to Ed Sheeran’s
song “Photograph.”
And she was
amazing!
My little
girl has taught herself to play this song from You Tube! And it sounded beautiful!
I stood
silently at her door, scared to move in case she knew I was there.
I stared at
the photograph of four year old Dempsey on the wall, and I listened to my baby,
playing her guitar and singing. And I felt
so lucky to be her Mum!
However, as soon
as I opened her door she stopped! And of
course, like any teenager, wouldn’t let me take a video, or a photo or play in
front of me…..no matter how hard I tried to bribe her.
But the
song, ‘Photograph’ and her singing reminded me I need to take more photos.
I need to
remember to get out my camera and record these special moments that can take us back. I know I have regrets I didn’t take enough
photos of her sister’s four years with us.
I only have a limited number of photos…but so many memories locked in my
mind that I can’t share with Dempsey about her sister and for that I have
guilt.
Baby Dempsey and her big sister Savannah
But going
through a storage box from our LA home, I found a locket that was given to
Savannah for her birthday. I gave it to
Dempsey because she was only one years old when her sister died....and told her I thought her sister would want her to have it!
When I went
back to her room later…Dempsey was sitting on her bed, rolling the necklace over
and over in her hand as she played on her computer. I didn’t say anything….but I noticed.
And that
night as I tucked her into bed, she had put the necklace on. She hasn’t taken it off since!
Dempsey with her Savannah's locket on
And this act
of her not taking her sister’s necklace off tells me so many things….it pulls
at my heartstrings, it warms my soul but most of all it reminds me that
memories and keepsakes are important. They’re
essential to cataloguing or recalling moments and things that have meaning….just
to us!
So I’m going
to make the effort to capture as many photos as I can…for later…for her…for my nieces
and nephews.
It will be a return ticket
for them… moments to revisit and laugh over…or brag about, or to make fun of….but
they’ll have them…memories held, frozen in time….priceless!
