As some of you may know, we recently moved 600 miles to Eureka Springs, AR. We’re still sorting through boxes, finding damage from the movers and finding broken items. But the thing that has amazed me the most is the mountain of pictures, our candids over the years from both our families. And then there are the many pictures we hung on our walls.

Mom’s Box

I have a box 2 feet by 1 foot by 1 foot that contains all of the photos from my mother. She died July 15, 2020, at just shy of 100. The photos in that box tell the story of her life, as well as parts of the stories of her seven brothers and sisters and German immigrant parents. I haven’t tackled the box but must one day to pare it down.

My Boxes

Then there are my boxes off photos primarily of my daughter, now 30, as she was growing up. Obviously her dad and I were delighted and we took lots of photos, often with double prints. These pictures filled the pedestals of two old desks, and I pared them down to two boxes of about 8 by 6 by 4. I’ll do a little more parsing and send copies to my former husband, who hasn’t many photos of this precious time.

The Walls

Then, there are the walls. When you move from a 3,200-square-foot home to one of 1,660 square feet, there just isn’t so much wall space. I gave away and sold and lot of artwork, but more has to go. Perhaps my daughter can use some.

Less is More

I gave most of my plaques and awards to a local trophy company for recycling, keeping just a few, and I don’t want to clutter our walls too much.

Pictures Define Your Life

Pictures, though, define your life. Your artwork highlights your taste and values. Your photos tell the story of your life and that of your family.

In Case of Fire

My parents as I was growing up had a commitment between them. In the event of a fire, the first thing to grab — after the family — would be the home movies. We never had a fire. And I now have those movies on a CD.

The Cloud

I suppose the problem of picture storage will be less in the future since most family photos are on phones and stored in the Cloud. But, you know, it’s not quite the same as going through those old boxes!