One sad aspect of the digital world we live in is that most of the images we have are stuck somewhere on our phones. We take the picture, admire it for a while, and it is promptly buried under the thousands of images that follow it. Sometimes we may download them onto a thumb drive or upload them to the cloud, but even then, when do we ever scan them once they are stored? I know that, for me, the answer is never.
About three years ago, for Christmas, our son gave us one of my favorite gifts ever, an Aura digital photo frame. Digital frames have been around for a while, and as always, I am a late adopter. I have seen them before and never bothered with them because I perceived them to be limited in functionality and difficult to load. This one is a gem, and it is still at the top of my list for best gifts ever.
The frame has a prominent spot in the living room and is set to start the slideshow at 7:00 am and will turn itself off at 10:00 pm. The reason I enjoy it so much is that it is easy to operate, cloud-based, and has a user-friendly app. All of my kids have access to the app and can upload photos to our frame at any time. I can be reading a book when a photo pops up that I haven’t seen before, I try squinting to see the details (I read without glasses but need them to see far away), and find myself drawn to the frame like a moth to a flame.
There is a picture of my son with his friends at a golf course. Even though we are hundreds of miles away, I feel like I am a part of his life. I go back to my book, only to catch a glimpse of another new picture: my daughter with her friends at a Broadway show. These little snapshots of time from their lives give me the color and images of the things that are important to them. If they are important to them, they are important to me.
Another slide shows these same adult children when they were little, an ice cream cone proudly held, colorful ice cream glazing their chins. Other photos display memories of their athletic abilities or theatrical talents. With these images, a myriad of emotions come rushing to my consciousness. I am transported back in time to a period when I was younger, in the midst of a career, child-raising, and just trying to keep my head above water.
Time passes so quickly. How did I get to be this old? How did these little people, who were so dependent on our help, become so grown and independent? My grandson’s face fills the frame, and I see my son in his face. How desperately I want to go back and hug that little boy and tell him how special he is. How did it happen that it was just yesterday that this boy’s father was just as cute and little as my grandson is now?
In an instant, the image is gone, replaced by a more recent one of our recent trip to Greece. I can feel the warmth of the sun as the chills of my reminiscing give way to an event from a few months ago. This frame is magic, and if I pay too close of attention to it, I will cover every single emotion in one sitting.
I probably upload more photos to the frame than anyone, and many of mine are landscapes. Images that I have captured of scenes that have caught my attention. Many others are selfies with Joan to remind me of dates, dinners, or trips we have taken. When I upload a photo, the kids get a notification and an image of the photo, so in some ways they can feel part of our lives… to the extent they are interested.
This frame is a portal through time and space, providing a sense of closeness and nostalgia in a way that a scrapbook or a shoebox of old pictures never could. We have those shoe boxes; in fact, we have our parents’ shoe boxes as well. Every once in a while, I will shuffle through these black-and-white images with gentle reverence, as if the photos themselves represented the people in them. Who is that person with my parents? I wish they were here to tell me. What was it like for them when they were just getting started? Looking through these pictures often leaves me with more questions than answers, and I’m ok with that.
I am also struck by the notion that, someday (hopefully), my descendants will be swiping on a screen to see images of my face and my life and will be left to ponder similar questions. I hope they can tell from these images that I loved my life, that I was happy, that I had fun, and, most especially, loved my family.
In the meantime, I have this magic frame to enjoy and appreciate how richly I have been blessed by the people in my life and the times that we have enjoyed. I try to never take it for granted, and with this gift, I am able to see new reminders every 30 seconds.