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I have recently traveled back in time and I do it every time I pass by the kitchen bar counter.

Thad recently got me a Digital Picture Frame for my birthday as our old small one was very limited in what it could do and cumbersome to add pictures to.  And I have been revisiting my memory stores ever since.  And that’s a good thing as with my 65 birthday around the corner, I realized I had forgotten so much of what has happened in my life.

I have gone from using a camera and developing my film and storing the memories in photo album, many of which are dilapidated, the sticky sheets no longer holding the pictures in their place.  I had 10 such albums when I converted to taking pictures with my cell phone.  Maybe once a year, after a conversation of an event or such I would pull one album out and lovingly go through it.

But I no longer store pictures in a photo album for that has given way to storing pictures on my desktop computer.  Oh, I would print a few off to frame and hang.  However, wall and shelf space has limited what I can enjoy as I walk around the house.  The rest were relegated to living their lives inside my computer and never to be looked at again.

With the advent of the Smart Phone, I have periodically taken the pictures from my phone and used Snapfish or Shutterfly to make books.  These were wonderful because I could make a book for special events like Christmas, travels to far away lands or when our grandson, Aiden would stay with us for a week in the summer.  While this is nice, I would often have to relearn how to do this between an event which was frustrating especially when they would “update” their website.  I also found myself making copies for family members and the cost was becoming expensive.  But these, too, sit in a stack on my shelf, rarely coming out for an “airing”.

But that has all changed with this wonderful birthday gift.  This is a Pixstar Wireless Digital Picture Frame.  Not the cheapest but not the most expensive.  You can upload from your computer, cell phone and your kids and family can email you their pictures to your pixstar email where you can choose to upload them as well.  The best thing about this is that it’s made for a simpleton like me.  It’s got to be easy because I have no patience.  Think Esau hastily selling his birthright because he was hungry.  But this old gal had it figured out just by following some well written instructions.  Yippee!

I merely choose the pictures I wanted from my cell phone, or desktop, or from the 10 mangled, partially dismembered, photo albums that sit on a top shelf in the guest room.

I have had the best time going through my computer picture files, my phone camera and the photo albums and uploading them to my Digital Picture Frame.

It sits on the bar in my kitchen and wakes up when it senses motion nearby.  It begins to scroll through all 719 photos and with each one I am transported back in time.

Some pictures like those of all the animals that were family and are now “over the rainbow” do cause bittersweet feelings as I long for a soft cuddly, furry family member to curl up with as I look at my pictures.  But they also remind me of the fun times I had with them.  Family and friends who are and were a part of our lives come alive and it helps me to see the plethora of blessings bestowed to Thad and I.  It’s like I receive a visit with every picture that comes alive on the screen reminding me how much they colored my world.

Each picture brings the realization that God has placed events, people, and family to remind me that as I walk this earth, I have never been alone.  While my picture frame is comprised of many pictures from all the decades of my life, seeing them scrolling by allows me to see the bigger picture that God created for me to experience.  And He has sent angels, disguised as each one of you to fill my life with joy.  I feel like I get a visit from each of you every time I’m near my Memory Pic Frame.

And in this time of COVID-19  we could use a reminder of the blessings we do have.

How do you keep your memories alive?   Do you have a ritual(s) that help you keep people and places in the forefront of your everyday life?  What coping mechanisms are you using to get you through COVID-19?  Please share in the conversation.

 

Thank you for reading my post.  If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it.  Feel free to even re-blog – may these words take flight!

I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts.  To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com

Blessings for Health & Wellness.