My mom was such an archivist. The notes on the back of many of our family photos provides clarity and answers to the questions we would ask many decades later.

The photo archive my mom and grandmother left initiated in the late 1960’s. In 1968, my dad was drafted to fight in Vietnam, just a year out of high school.

That same year, my mom and dad were married, age 20 and 19, respectively. My mom, the kid from Cherry Hill by way of North Carolina, and my dad, the kid from Edmondson Village. Families communicated with soldiers by mailing letters and photos. I do not have any documentation of letters that may have been sent, but my mom sent photos to my dad with notes on the back. I read more into these notes decades later than I ever have before.

Now this is not a fairytale ending ( I am laughing as I write this), as this union would end in a few years and without my sister and I ever seeing a photo of all of us together. If she were alive today, she would be fussing me out for sharing all of this. Sorry ma', but this is shared out of love. I share this because I am proud of our family. The ups and downs; the disappointments and triumphs; the pain and joy. Through it all, we have remained a family.

I truly understand that nothing lasts forever. That said, my appreciation for these images have significantly grown over time. In a day where photos are taken with no concern of shutter count or archiving, I marvel at how long these photos have lasted. Afterall, there aren't many things that we hold onto for 50 plus years.