Nostalgia

Let’s talk a trip down memory lane.  I love to let my mind wander back to childhood and all of the simple times.  The best part about childhood you ask?  No bills!  I did not have a care in the world, and I am truly grateful to have had an amazing childhood.  My only jobs were to be obedient to my parents, get good grades, and be a good and decent human being.  I’m proud to say that I achieved all of that. 

I was recently visiting my parents and decided to go through an old box of photos.  Photos from our trips to Orlando, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and many more.  I especially loved looking at the photos of my grandparents, all of whom passed on when I was a child.  I would have loved to have been able to grow up with all of my grandparents.  In all honesty, when I see people my age now, in our forties, who still have their grandparents, I smile, and just imagine what it would be like if I still had mine.  So, if you still have yours, cherish them.  Love them.  Learn from them. 

As I was going through these photos, I had a nostalgic moment, when I also found the film from when the photos were developed.  If you around my age or older, you will probably remember back in the day when you had those 110 cameras, where you had to load the film into the camera.  Even when the cameras became a little more sophisticated, with the pixels allowing for smoother photos, you still had to load your film into the camera, which had a set limit on the number of photos that you could take.  If I recall correctly, I believe that most rolls of film allowed you to take around thirty pictures. 

Once the camera roll was full, you had to take the film to the store, or send it into a company to have your photos developed, which would typically take around three to five days, until the invention of the one-hour photo development.  Here’s the kicker.  You did not know how you looked in any of these photos until they were returned to you.  I cannot tell you how many photos I have where my eyes were closed, I looked like I was talking, or photos where I just look downright crazy.  Of course, you got mad at the photographer initially asking “Why didn’t you tell me my eyes were closed?”  But it really wasn’t their fault, because remember, they had to look through that tiny square just to make sure that you were in the frame, so they were not really paying attention to your eyes.  It definitely wasn’t like it is now where you take a selfie, and if you do not like it, you can simply delete it and take another.  Technology has come such a long way.

I love these nostalgic moments and reliving happy memories. So, what is a nostalgic memory for you?