Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Good Old Days

We were gone over Christmas so I finally made it over to moms this week to pick up our gifts. We had dropped ours off before leaving. One of my sisters got us a frame that says “A PIECE OF MY HEART LIVES IN HEAVEN’ and while I love the frame it’s the pictures that brought back the memories. The top picture was my dad and about a 5 year old Kaleb. The way Kaleb is sitting in the chair with his little ankles crossed and talking so animatedly with daddy captures Kaleb’s true self. He could talk so passionately about subjects that interested him.  He might have been discussing Pokémon cards, or gardening or jet streams. My daddy has been gone 7 years now.  Kaleb was so close to him.  Daddy was one of the few people that had almost enough patience to handle Kaleb’s incessant questions and could answer why over and over and over again.  Maybe he got some good practice raising me.  Kaleb and I shared a lot of our ADD traits.  We both asked a lot of questions.  I still do.  We both talk a lot. We are both pretty sarcastic so I could see where he might have had a little practice.  I always wondered why I  spent a lot of time with my grandparents. I remember getting up early and fishing with my daddy and papa.  Being in the pasture with my papa.  Going to church with them on Sundays.  I think the saying “it takes a village to raise a child” came from raising kids like Kaleb and myself. No one person could handle either of us constantly.
The bottom picture is all 3 boys together.  Kaleb posing as always.  I can’t tell you how many times I had to retake pictures because I didn’t think they were good enough.  I was always saying Kaleb smile right.  Kaleb behave.  I wish I’d have kept every one of those crazy goofy faces.   If you have kids, don’t strive for perfect pictures.  Capture their many faces.  Don’t use that little trashcan picture on your digital camera or phone.  Treasure every one of them.  You never know when that will be all you have to help you hold onto their memory.  I’m so thankful I take a ton of pictures.  We will have them to show the grandkids their Uncle Kaleb. They can have a face to go with the name of the relative they will never know personally.

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