Old Photographs

So I have this picture collage that hangs in my bedroom.  It's been hanging there for years already.  But it's always had one picture missing.  The picture size is very small.  2x2.  For years I've struggled to find the perfect picture for that very last spot.  No picture ever seemed right.  Well last night I found the perfect picture.

When my dad was selling his townhouse last year he started bringing me everything in his house by the car load full.  I think he thought that most of the stuff was "my moms" and, naturally, I should want it.  Most of this stuff I did not want and gave to Goodwill.  When my Mom first died my sister and I had gone through her jewelry and picked out the pieces we wanted.  Years ago my Dad had given me most of their Christmas stuff.  So, pretty much, I already had everything I wanted from his house.  The only thing he ended up bringing me that I later realized I really wanted was all their photographs.  40+ years of photographs and memories.  He did do a very good job of sorting out all the photographs and misc belongings he had of mine and all my brothers.  He sorted everyone's things into boxes that all ended up in MY garage.

I've had these photos for over a year now but never really took the time to look through them all.  But last night I took the bag out of my closet and went through every single one.  All the photos were great but two of them really stuck out at me.

The first was a photo of my mom and dad with my 3 brothers (all wearing matching overalls!) sitting on a couch.  It is dated July 6, 1974.  Two months before I was born.  Unfortunately, you can't really see my mom's pregnant belly but I know I'm in there.  Ged was about 13, Ed was about 10 and Kevin was about 8 (and they're all wearing matching overalls?).  All 3 of them were so freaking cute.  My mom was 31.  So young and beautiful.  My dad was 39.  WOW.  I am definitely framing this one.

The second photo was of my mom sitting on a brick wall.  She is wearing a fancy white dress with puff sleeves.  She has a corsage on her left shoulder, her legs crossed, and her hands folded in her lap with a pair of white heels on.  Black and white.  It's dated July 1960.  18 yrs old.  And it fits perfectly in that last 2x2 spot...

Seeing a picture of my mom that is 51 yrs old freaked me out a bit.  When I first realized how old the picture was I thought to myself, no that can't be right.  I, literally, sat there and counted the years on my fingers again.  I don't know why.  Her birthday was at the end of this month.  She would have been 69 this year.

Out of a 9 picture collage, my mom made the cut 3 times.  The only other person to hold that honor is Liam.