memory lane

have you ever stumbled upon a bunch of old photos or letters and suddenly you are rewinding time back to another place and season? i've been trying to update our hard drive in case my laptop crashes, among other reasons, and i opened up some old photo folders while the hard drive was connected to my computer.

it was pretty surreal to reverse in time: before ruby, or monrovia, back to the days when my dad was still in our life, pre-graduate school, a few less wrinkles...

so suddenly i was thrust back into memories that had faded a bit as i looked at old photos

this afternoon i have been reliving weddings... (here we were at courtney and chetan's)

old paintings

adventures in new jersey when we lived there for a few months in the garden part of the garden state, at my aunt fern emma and uncle arthur's house

where we used to go for long walks through the woods

or sit on their deck and enjoy the snow covered backyard

or play in the snow

or when we drove across the country and went to graceland

and stopped at beautiful places along our route west

walks with friends-these little babies are now going into kindergarten!

fun vacations in tahoe before any of us had kids

parties in our front yard way back when we lived in pasadena in 2003

...back when matt wore baggy pants!

my mom's garden birthday tea in 2005

and the days of being a bridesmaid (in 100 degree heat-i swear. sweat was dripping down our backs and legs as we took this photo)

time in the hospital when adriane was fighting leukemia (she just celebrated 5 years healed of cancer!)

...and hundreds more pictures that reminds me of how quickly seasons come and go- the good ones and the bad ones. it saddens me to know that my dad and my sister-in-law, who are all over these photos i have, are no longer a part of our family. but then i think of new members of our family- my niece sadie, my daughters, my sister-in-law to be sarah. these moments are buried in us and shape us, and hopefully make us richer human beings. it was a glimpse to me of people and places that i love. it made me want to soak up today a little more intentionally.