Have you ever been with someone who is always taking
pictures? They take pictures of you and they take pictures of the activity you
are doing together whether that is walking the dog or eating at a restaurant.
When they are eating at a restaurant with you, they often take pictures of
their food, your food, the menus and they want the waitress to take a picture
of you and them, or the group you are with, before you go from the table. They
are the person that says “Hey let’s take a picture together” or “Go stand over
there, and (insert clever pose idea here).” They are also many times, the
person who will stop a stranger walking by and ask “Would you mind taking a
picture of us, please?” Pictures…constantly. Sometimes it annoys you, irritates
you, and even embarrasses you. Well let me just say that I have had that time
in my life where I have been annoyed by too many pictures, and now, after that
chapter in my life, I cherish those photos of that time in my past. If I hadn’t
had those people that snapped pictures all the time, I may not have the
pictures of those important times in my life. So after realizing how important
pictures can be, I became one of those people, yes, the kind of person
described above.
I take pictures. Or let’s say it this way…I snatch up
moments in time that will never happen the exact same way ever again and keep
them forever. If I don’t capture them to reminisce on later, that moment may be
gone, never to be remembered or thought of again. Our life is made up day to
day and those days are made up by little moments, and so many of those moments,
even those that seem mundane at the time, are as unique as snowflakes; there is
never one exactly the same. They may seem like everyday moments to you now, but
when you are in a completely different place in five years, those pictures will
have captured a totally different chapter in your life.
So I take pictures when I am with you. Well, first of all I
am done apologizing for taking so many pictures. Second, you should feel honored
and you should feel loved. If I am taking pictures of a day on the beach with
you, a walk around the lake, a hike to a waterfall, or a nice dinner we are
enjoying together that means I cherish the moment enough to capture it and not
let it go. I cherish life and if I am hanging out with you, you are probably a
pretty big part of my life, so no I am not sorry I am walking slower because I
am capturing the flowers we are passing by or the views that take my breath
away that will sometime later remind me of that special moment in life’s
journey that I shared with you.
So with that said, please don’t make me feel like I am
inconveniencing you by taking time to capture the moment I get to spend with
you. Sure there are stalkers with cameras out there, but I am not one of them.
I take pictures of the people I care for and of the things that go with those
moments we share together. It is my way of remembering who I was with, what we
were doing, and the whole atmosphere that went along with the event. I tend to
forget so much, even in my young age of 24, and I just want to remember the
moments that make up my days, that make up my life. I want to remember you, and
who you are right now so that when I am not with you I can look at pictures and
remember the fun times we had. I want to remember you, because you mean
something to me. I want to remember the pelicans I saw with you or the way you
looked lost in thought on the beach. I want to remember the wooden shack that
you and I and too many other people slept in one cold spring night. I want to
remember the picnic we had by the beautiful winding mountain river. I want to
remember the crazy hot dish you made at our Christmas party that changed my
taste buds forever. I want to remember the special yummy things that come off
of our stove or out of our oven that we make together. I want to remember you;
I want to remember the place, the environment, the feelings, and the moment.
