#91: "family portraits"
It's been a few weeks since I've been able to write for a Friday. I knew when I started this there would be weeks when it just didn't work; where life would just get in the way of writing about life.
As a little snapshot, here's some of the things that have been going on:
We wrapped up our last two weekends of shows at school, and while I was lucky enough to not have to be on site, I was on call. I really dislike the dread I have when I realize that any phone call could wreck the day.
We're having to completely rip out our basement in a effort to assuage a constant assault from water. I realize that trying to stop water is truly not feasible - given enough time water will always win - but we have to try. We're putting in drains down by the footings, a new sump pump, new framing where needed and all new drywall. It's good for us to do for both our home and our family, but it's also leaving me without a quiet place to work/write.
We also paused one morning about a week ago to take care of what's become our first family tradition.
The first holiday season after we were married we sent out a card that had pictures of the two of us from our wedding. It was both a Happy New Year* card and a happy new us card. The sending of these cards is part of the tradition (our new ones will be ready for sending in a few days, so if you want one reply with your address). The other part is that sometimes fun, sometimes awkward, oftentimes heartwarming family picture session.
Somewhere in the storage drawers of my parents house there are family portraits from when I was a child. I can't recall all the details anymore - I think in some of them we dressed up a la church on Sundays, and other times we were a bit more casual. I also don't remember any pictures of my family when we were just a trio; it's always been pictures of the four of us.
They were almost always from Olan Mills. They were the photo studios in the department store at the mall. I'm sure you've seen their styles - quartets in diamond shaped compositions behind broad-brushed single color backgrounds, or whatever other pull down shade style you could choose from; floating heads, double exposures. I remember sitting on numerous weird, carpet covered shapes and apple boxes to get us to the right height. I also remember the string attached to the camera that the photographer stretched out to us to make sure we weren't leaning too far forward or back.
What I don't remember is how in the hell our parents got us to sit still and smile for even the fraction of a second it takes to take that picture. This was the day of film photography; hundreds of shots couldn't be taken to get just the right one, you had to be ready to get the shot in just one or two takes. I'd like to know what they bribed us with so I can try it on my kids.
One day, maybe when my parents move or after they've passed, we'll pull out all these old family portraits. We'll take the time to scan them all for digital storage, and then we'll divide up the prints we want and likely toss out the rest. Our family mementos are like that these days; digital photos are physically untouchable but the breadth of seemingly mundane memories we can capture is amazing. Back then we had physical proof of life but missed the everyday. I guess the dream is to have both.
p.s that's not at all my family, but it's such a quintessential Olan Mills shot. Kinda freaky, kinda everything.
*We send out a Happy New Year card because we know many people that all celebrate different winter holidays (or none at all), but one thing we know - there's always the new year.