One small year

Sometimes it feels like the days drag on. Other times the weeks fly by. At the end of the year, when all of those “year in review” shows start running Christmas Eve, in anticipation of the coming New Year, I always find myself doing a mental “year in review” of my own life. I’ve long been fond of the New Year and the concept of a fresh start. But it isn’t often throughout the year that I take a look at the past year. Being a list making person who takes particular thrill at completion and accomplishment, you would think that I would continuously be in review mode, and in some ways I am, but usually short term, like this week, this month, and in reality, tend to be looking ahead to things that need to be done rather than what has been done. Completion and accomplishment is usually accompanied by a sigh, as in relief, and not so much a pat on the back, which I firmly believe that one deserves once in a while.




I began a photographic project recently. It is the 365 project, and it entails taking and uploading a photograph per day. The website is http://365project.org. It’s free. I joined because I wanted to be forced to pick up my camera everyday and see something worth shooting, even if I have to create it myself. Some days are easier than others. Some days I agonize over my selection, having so many good shots from that day. Some days are really a stretch. The idea is to chronicle your life for a year, and at the end of it, be able to review it and see a slideshow of photos that represent your progression through the year.

The way I organize my digital images is by date. This might not work for others, but for me, it does. Given that, I am able to easily look back through the year. The other day, I thought, well, exactly what was I up to last year at this time. I searched back into april and found this:

Though I recall that we were working on the house we had just purchased, I certainly didn’t remember the detail. Certain dates stand out – March 11th, closed. April 20th, cabinets delivered, May 24th, spent the first night, but not really the evenings I spent painting or Joe cleaning up the freshly sheet rocked kitchen, or when Nola first met Livvy. So, that’s what was going on for me last year at this time. It’s worth a note that the kitchen is still my favorite room of the house. I love my kitchen.

Scrolling through the year brought me into the next big thing that year, our wedding. I have the obvious (and fabulous if I say so myself) wedding pictures themselves that Amanda Prouty took (www.amandaproutyphotography.com). Our online album:

http://photosbyceleste.smugmug.com/People/Weddings/Joe-Celestes-Wedding/8696609_nhRty#574734224_xxTZJ

What my camera captures during the year goes beyond my sketchy memory of the year. I use it to remind me when the crocuses bloomed at the Ornamental Garden in the spring and that Nola and I made chocolate chip pancakes on November 22nd, the same day I made a pile of whoopee pies. January 24th was blessed with blue skies and gigantic icicles that hung precariously over our deck and doorways.

So, one small year passes into another and if all goes well, another, until I’ve stitched together a lifetime. Thankfully I can freeze little moments of it digitally and relive them later, the next day or the next year.

I’d like to hear from anyone who has a chance to review their year. What do you remember, big and small? Does your camera help keep the memories sorted?