Why multi-generation family photos are special for my family.

This subject is something near and dear to my heart. My love for photography very well may have started with family photos. We weren’t well off, but my mother always made sure we set aside money for family photos. It became a tradition I intend to pass down, and as you will see in last month’s social posts, I am actively doing so.

I am not in this photo, which is why it’s so important to get photos done professionally, so all your family is in them.

I decided I was going to move across the country at a young age (7th grade). After my freshman year of college, I solidified that decision. I got rid of half the things I owned, knowing I wouldn't want to tow them 20 hours. It gave me plenty of time to come to terms with how hard it was going to be living on my own without a support system nearby. After I met my now husband, I also had plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that my child would most likely not have a close relationship with their extended family. Fast forward, and we are in that very situation with my son. When he got a little older, I made him an interactive family tree to familiarize him with that family. He loves it. It’s so fun to show him pictures, knowing he can point to them and know them by name.

As I get older, I see how special those photos from my childhood are. Especially now that I look back and realize that there are people in the photos who are no longer with us. It’s still a shock every time. When I started writing, I realized something important to me. I didn’t mind growing up away from some of my extended family. It made the memories we made when we were together even more special, and I have photos from almost every one of those visits. One thing that was cool and sad all at once was visiting my grandparents on my mother’s side in Arizona. My grandmother and I shared the same birthday, so we always had a special bond, but it was sad because they were so far away. Something I will talk more about in an article later this year is the universe setting me up for things I never thought I would get. Right before I started school at Purdue, those grandparents moved back to Lafayette, IN, for health reasons, and suddenly I had the opportunity to visit them almost every weekend for four years. All that time growing up away from them, I got to squeeze in extra time while at college. I’m so grateful I was provided with that time because right before graduating, I said goodbye to my brilliant, grumpy, funny grandfather, and two years ago I said goodbye to my birthday twin. They were in some of my photos for projects at school, and I will cherish them forever.

This is the image from the project mentioned above. Two out of three of my family members in this photo are gone.

When I realized the grandparents I had special relationships with would never have a relationship with my son, I wanted to make sure I had photos to show him at some point. There’s a dedication to those grandparents in my home, and I am so grateful we had plenty of multi-generation photos to choose from. That’s why they are important to me and mine.

Thanks for being here,

Kate