Take more photos of your loved ones. Start today.

My uncle died a couple of months ago. He was sick for a long time, but it always seemed like he had 9 lives. Every time he was very sick and in the hospital over the last few years, he would get better. I live very far away from my family and I wasn't able to go visit, so it hit me pretty hard.

I don't know how most people really feel about death, because it's not something people talk about freely. I feel like even though he isn't with us physically, he is still around. His body was failing, and it was time for him to be free from it. Of course, this doesn't make it any easier. And even though I know that he knows how much I love him, I feel bad about not being able to make it out there in time to see him, or able to make it to the funeral to be with my aunt and other family.

I know that there are so many people that hate having their photo taken. I am, in fact, one of them. I absolutely hate seeing myself in photos. I usually un-tag myself in them on Facebook for a variety of reasons...true story. But I will make an effort to take more photos of family, friends, and yes, even myself...because I think it's important to have to have them to help us remember people we love. They don't have to be professional photos. In fact, some of my favorite photos are, from a technical standpoint, awful. But they make me laugh or they remind me of something special.

So, in honor of my Uncle Dave, who I love very very much, here are some of my family photos that remind me of him and other people I love. They're not all gone. Some are just very far away and I miss them terribly.

 Okay, I warned you...I said some of them would be terrible from a technical standpoint. That is my favorite photo of my uncle. Yes, seriously. We both put our cameras in each other's faces at the same time. There's probably a photo just like this of my laughing mouth someplace. He had the best laugh ever. This picture makes me think of him laughing and it makes me happy.

 My Papper (nickname for my grandpa) had to be one of the silliest people ever. He was a big joker. Clearly. Now, don't get me wrong...he didn't always act like a goofball. But he was pretty funny most of the time. This is my favorite photo of him, taken on one of our yearly beach trips.

 

Hey, it's me! No, I don't miss myself...although I'd be pretty happy to have that hair again. Well, the length of it anyway. I'll skip the perm. Those two kids are my cousins. They lived with my parents for a bit. We were very close as kids because we spent a lot of time together. Now we're all adults and we don't get to keep in touch as often as we'd like. I see them on Facebook, but ...

 

 My Poppy. He has been gone since I was 12 and I still miss him just as much as when he left us. I used to watch Bullwinkle with him on the weekends when I would stay with my grandparents. He made breakfast. He ate the stuff I made in my Easy-bake Oven and acted like it was the best food ever, even though I'm sure it tasted like sand. I miss all the time I spent with my grandparents as a kid.

 My brother and sister are 20+ years younger than me. It's true! They live in a different state than I do and we don't get to see each other very often. (I'm visiting for Christmas! I'm excited!) We have seen each other since this photo was taken. I just love this photo, despite the fact that I look like that in it.

  Another photo of my sister (that is also my dad...). She has always been a little wild. This photo makes me realize how much my son looks like her. He is also a little wild. We like them that way ;)

Okay, yeah, it's not a person. But this was my favorite car. I still have its heart and various other parts out in my garage. It was a rusty, hot mess of a car. And not really an ass-hauler, although it sounded mean and when you revved the engine the whole car would torque a little. It had granny-low and you could crawl up the side of anything. I learned to work on it so I could keep it running. I bought it for $500. It saw me through some pretty rough times. I keep telling myself that one day I will have another one.

Not putting a photo of her because for some reason I don't actually have that many. There is one...but she would kill me if I posted it...I love my mama and I miss her every day. I'm so excited that I get to see her and my aunt and my grandma (among other people) for Christmas this year. It has been too long.

Take more photos of your loved ones. And even the things you love the most. They don't have to be beautiful. You don't have to think you are beautiful. Don't cover your face or hide. My grandmother did this. There are really very few photos of her and it's a shame. In my family, the photos are really our prized possession. I don't even know who half the people are in the very old ones. It is still awesome to see them.



I've been sitting on this post for a while. I started writing it and then I left it sitting because it was still difficult for me to even start to deal with the loss of my uncle.

It is unrelated, but I can't end the post without saying something about it. Yesterday, something terrible happened in this country. I don't think there is a way to process it. I'm not even going to try. I feel for the families of the beautiful children and teachers we lost. I hope that they all find their way to light.