I always understood nostalgia. I understood the need to take photographs--to preserve, record, to document what was. I saved all of my childhood notes (folded up into footballs). I have all of my high school and college football programs, my bad and some good test grades and some pretty horrible wallet pics of classmates. The photos consume a storage area of my basement named "THE ARCHIVES" by my girlfriends. It is my whole life. It is who I was and why I am now. Old boyfriends still smile up at me through foggy glass. The adhesive may have dried on the albums-- but the discolored memories remain.
Last week my daughter Aidan- now 19-- was giggling at all of her instagram shots. There it was. Her rendition of the archives. One big room in one little box--her iphone. That frightened me. The responsibility of her entire history on a phone - a chip-- in the clouds-- I don't know where exactly. What l I do know is, they're not in her hands. This made me nervous and I told her so. What is she going to have to remember all this? All I can imagine is her photos shuffling off into space-- far far away from her. She'll never know what it's like to pour a glass of wine on a rainy day, sit indian-style and go through all of her great "stuff".
Interrupting my dark thoughts Aidan yelled out, "Hey, I heard about a site that prints out all of your instagram shots!"
Within seconds we made the order. 250 treasures-- heading her way in a click. Within a week her life for the past year was at our front door. I couldn't help but smile as I watched her sit cross-legged on the family room floor with little 4x4's surrounding her. The colors of her life made a fantastic pattern on the carpet. Seeing it all out there in front of her had to be so awesome for her. Look at my life! This is what I do!!! After a few hours and a lot of giggling-- she pulled them all in, packed them up in their cool little boxes and headed up the steps.
For me- I felt security, somehow. Secure in the fact that she felt the magic of holding the tangible. Pleased to have watched her see first-hand how much fun it is to have "stuff" to look back on and flip through. Stuff to keep forever. http://printstagr.am/