Enjoy Memories

I have been on a quest this year to take a photo each day. It has been a great learning experience. The more you practice with any instrument the better you get -- true for cameras, too. So far I have not pulled from client sessions - I've focused more on family and still life (although nothing about my family is close to "still"). I've tried to have a theme each week. I haven't been blogging these but do have a FB album of what I've taken thus far if anyone is interested. However, I decided to blog today's capture ... the explanation was too long for a FB comment.

The theme I've chosen for this week is "Things I should get rid of but don't have the heart to." And here's my image for today:



I spent my preschool years on a short street with few houses in a small town. Everyone was a good neighbor. If mom had to run to the grocery store - which was in another town ... actually across a state line! - she could leave me with anyone on the street. They were all part of my family.

Directly across from us lived a retired baker and his wife. His name was Mr. Pickens, but I called him "Mr. Pick." He made my birthday cakes each year until we moved away. But it's not the birthday cakes I remember ... it's the orange rolls. I can still "taste" them today when I think of Mr. Pick. And I've never found any that compare. His name will always be associated with the taste of orange.

Mr. and Mrs. Pick didn't have any children, so when he died his wife gave his pastry set to my mom. When she died I could not bear to throw them away. They will never be of use to anyone -- too outdated and rusted. They have no value to anyone -- I'm probably the last living person who even remembers him. So they will end up in a landfill one day. I will, with some guilt for not having taken care of it myself, leave these for my children to dispose of at some point in the future. At least now they'll know why I couldn't do it.

In some ways this is sad ... to think that memories of Mr. Pick may end with me. In other ways it is joyful ... I was blessed enough to have this influence in my life and have such wonderful memories to cherish.

Ah, this may prove to be a bittersweet week of photos!