Shalina Lives

I found this card today at a thrift shop and was like, “That’s ME!” The one on the left… doesn’t she look like me?

Who am I kissing though? I tried to think of someone and couldn’t figure out who she reminded me of. But… I’ve settled on this: she represents all of my friends that are so so special to me (girls AND boys!). Recently, I’ve noticed that I’m not as affectionate as I used to be*. My insecurities take over and I stay in my own personal space. I want to give more hugs and kisses! Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something? All I know is that I wanted to climb into that picture, wear those exact same clothes, and step onto my tippy-toes to kiss my good friend who loves kitties. (Then, after walking around in the Shire a bit, we’d head back to our Hobbit houses.)

*This does not include my daughter, Katie. She gets TONS of smoosh-her-face-kisses.

Appreciation

The most common motive behind taking a picture is to remember a given moment, right?

When we look at a photo from our own past, the emotion that was felt when it was taken seeps through as if we just experienced it all over again. This could be joy, love, peace, pride, or even grief, sadness, pain, or anger. But no matter what, we’re in some way appreciating a moment that has passed.

Yesterday, when visiting an antique shop, I was immediately drawn to a bin of random old photos. I picked up a stack and started flipping through them. The moments were so real, and most likely completely forgotten. I decided to try and pull myself into the time and place each photo was taken so I could sense the feelings, thoughts and experiences of the people I was looking at.

Let me just say, appreciating other people’s lost memories might become my newest hobby (someone has to do it!). It was amazing to stand there and for those few minutes (ok… maybe not so few) completely forget about my own life.

I was a seamstress, pausing from my work to take a group photo (see me way in the back?)

And I was a daughter, laughing, while dad gathered wood.

And in this one, I was on a dock, taking photos of my niece, but stopped to pet the deer (?!)

I’m going to keep these, and will most likely gather more random old photos through the years. I’m adopting these people’s memories because they deserve to be appreciated.

I GOT IT!

I found a guy on craigslist selling “4 old cameras”. He gave them all to me for only $25! One of them is my newly beloved, Polaroid SX-70. It’s not modified yet to be compatible with the 600 film I have stocked in the fridge, but I was too impatient to wait. I blew out a few pics, but at least I got a few good ones.