Bring Old Photos to Your Next Holiday Gathering for a Walk Down Memory Lane

We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday when it was 80 degrees outside. It was kind of a last minute decision - we had originally planned to do a pot luck for Thanksgiving and have it next to a campfire so that my Pops, who is in the high risk category for COVID, could have a fun time without worrying as much about being around a lot of people.

It was a really great day - good food, good times with family. And after we ate, my mom brought out a special surprise... She had brought a box of old pictures with her. Usually, the only time we go through old photos is when someone dies or when we move. Sad, but true. And in a digital age when everything is on a thumb drive somewhere, my only connection to the past in pictures is Facebook memories. But it was so fun to sit and go through old photos - reminiscing and sharing embarrassing ones with newcomers to the fam. I even took some photos of the photos and sent them out to those in the photos so they could cringe at their awkward phases and feel nostalgic over their glory days.

The one above is me - I apparently got into my grandma's things. I started counting all the very 80s things - those glasses, the Pound Puppy, my brother's glorious feathered hair and what looks like an AC/DC shirt, the gloomy wallpaper, that scratchy, ugly, uncomfortable brown chair with the unnecessary frilly bottom, the NFL sleeping bag that was really really snuggly, my family's perfectly perfect family photo, and my dad's Tom Selleck mustache. Somehow the only thing I still have is the plant stand. I'm looking at it (literally) right now... Weird.

This year has been a tough one. It was really nice to be transported to a time when we didn't have social media, or COVID, or any of the craziness this year has put us through. And yes, we had problems but somehow those memories fade away and the good ones are left. So, if you are planning on any kind of a family gathering for Thanksgiving or Christmas - even a virtual one - may I suggest bringing a few old pictures with you and take a few too. Maybe even get them printed and put them in rotation for holidays to come.

I think this will become a family tradition from here on out. I'll bring the mashed potatoes - you bring the memories.