Can you guess the year this was taken?

I’ve got in my possession a great number of photos that stir the memory. This one for example. Not that I was there for this photo, I was not. But the three people in the picture are family and important people to me.

To the right, my Grandpa Waters. I wish I knew him better as a younger man. By the time I had more exposure to him he was quite old and I have a lasting image of him sitting in his chair in front of the TV which is off, not on. I never quite understood that but I do remember my Dad talking about trying to encourage his Dad to watch something he enjoyed.

I read between the lines all these years later that Grandpa Waters, who had been quite active, was quite unhappy finding himself rather inactive and, well old. I imagine that his world, which was so informed by his day and age straddled the turn of the 20th Century.

Center in the photo is my aunt Freda – of the five Eastland girls she is the second youngest. How and where she met my uncle Ricky who is on the left, I am unaware. Ricky – later to go by Richard, was from Pakistan and became a successful businessman. He was an athlete, and an avid dog lover (my assumption on the number of dogs they owned) and he seemed to love horses.

What these kinds of photo raise in my mind are twofold. First, it feels good to see an old photo and the memories it generates, but secondly, it reminds me how much time has passed and of course, implied that that time is ticking by quickly.

This past week a friend passed away – to use Salvation Army terms – he was promoted to glory. He retired recently and so we were all so surprised to hear of his passing. Seeing the pictures on Facebook reminds me of the timeline!

Maybe I’m too focused on time these days, but of course, as we all get older the more we are struck by how more of life is in the rearview mirror than out the front window. So I’m valuing every day more and more, finding that I do not want to wish away days or waste opportunities to invest in family and faith.