[lizardlady]

I even found some paths I didn't know existed.

Today is the fifth anniversary of Mom's death. I wanted to do something other than feel sorry for myself. So I dug out the boxes of pictures I brought home from her house. What a stoll down memory lane! It brought back some good memories (and some not so good ones)

I also found out some things I never knew. One of the boxes had my maternal grandmother's scrapbook from her high school years. I never knew she spoke French. I also didn't know she went to business school after high school. Turns out she dated a lot of different young men during high school. That lead me to wonder how she and my grandfather met. No one ever told me and there's no one left to ask.

I'm going back to the boxes in a little bit. My brain and emotions needed a break from it.

[kaliope]

glad you have that family history to go through...it is a shame there is nobody around to answer your questions...enjoy the rest of your trip down memory lane......

[lizardlady]

I spent another couple of hours going through the boxes last night. I found pictures of my mom and her sister when they were kids. This lead to another neat discovery. My brother and I were identical in appearance. Even though there were six years between us, my mom used to tease people and say we were twins. As much as we looked like each other, we didn't look like either of our parents. Mom also used to tease that we looked like the milkman. Anyway, I discovered that when I was little I looked just like my mom at the same age. Not sure if that weird or kewl or both.

The real find last night though was pictures of my dad's family. The only picture I ever saw of his parents was obviously a studio portrait. The family was very poor and lived in a very remote, rural area. I doubt they even owned a camera. I found some snapshots of them. I also found some pictures of my father as a teenager or young adult. Never saw those before either. Also found some snapshots of my dad when he was in the service. Never saw those before either.

I'm so glad I decided to do this. Some of the memories are not so good. The pictures of family get-togethers bring back bad memories because everyone was drunk. The pictures of my brother are bittersweet. We were so close and it shines out of the pictures. There's one where I'm sitting in his lap and he has his arms around me. The look of protection on his face warms me and breaks my heart at the same time.

I still have a box and a half to go through. I plan to spend tonight doing that. I'll let y'all know what other treasures I find.