Every once in a while, I take some time to clear out old photos in my phone. Before the days of iStorage (is that what it’s even called?), I was always buying those itty bitty SD cards to increase the storage of my phone. Was I using all the apps? Nope. Was I running a multimillion dollar business that required all the memory? Not even close. But, let me tell you, that omelette that I had at some brunch in 2012, the picture of my manicure, the selfie with my stethoscope pretending I know what I’m doing, some completely boring presentation I was working on, my avocado toast, the (same) coffee I drink daily, the “cheers from me” glass of wine, 2.7 million photos of my dog, and probably thousands of mundane day to day things – all safely captured and stored on my phone.
I admit, I have a photo hoarding problem.
That said, I’m trying to reign it in and make a concerted effort to look through my pictures and delete the ones that really don’t need to be stored. Which got me thinking about the reasons I take photos in the first place.
Some are purely practical – send someone the picture of the intersection I’m waiting to meet them at, the receipt from dinner to split, the title of the book recommended to me, the tag from the coat I want to buy, the top I’m considering buying but need someone to remind me I already own ten of them and probably don’t need an eleventh.
Other photos are taken only to share the current moment. “This made me think of you,” “I thought this was funny,” “Look at how adorable Scruffles looks peeing right now,” or “This felt like it could be a very artistic portrayal of [insert topic of interest].” These are the photos that I need to rifle through and delete. And rarely do I actually do that. Do I look back at the manicure photo from 2012 and wonder why I took it? Yes. Why was this omelette important? No idea. What’s special about this unlabeled glass of wine? I’ll get back to you later on that one (*sips from wineglass sitting near laptop*).
Lastly, the “important” ones. This includes every photo ever taken of my dog. And all the other things that I seem to value. But what makes these photos worthy of saving and keeping? I don’t quite know the answer to that yet. I do know that many of the photos that I save are the things that I’d like to look back in the future and remember. Smile about, laugh, and be transported to a time that once was. In one word – memories.
So this got me thinking of how snapping a photo on our phone is such an easy task, we do it often without putting too much thought into it, but the sentiment behind is quite beautiful. What it says to me is:
I want to capture this perfect moment and carry it into the future with me.
Looking back at all the photos I have with friends, family, loved ones, the city views and most importantly – Mr. Scruffles, they are all capturing a moment that I desire to carry with me into the years to come. On that same thought, I think of all the times that others invite me into their photos, and how in so many ways it is a way of saying “I’d like remember this, and I’d like to remember you one day.”
How beautiful is it for someone to want to carry pieces of our time together into the future?
I am so grateful to have moments in my life that I want to carry with me into the future, and that I am surrounded by others who want to carry me into their future too.
xoxo,
Kathy ❤
Simple Serendipities 