For almost five years, I’ve had this photograph of my great-grandparents framed in all the places I’ve lived – at my parents’ house, in my first apartment, in the first apartment I lived with my boyfriend and now, in our home.
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I see them there every day, grinning and smiling at me from my wall, and I remember. I remember why I chose to be a photographer; it’s not just a job for me. I’m a photographer because I was raised to see moments like this one. Since I was a child, I loved looking at old photos, asking who was who and what was happening when the picture was taken. I love keeping stories alive.
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Even though I wasn’t alive when this snapshot was taken, I remember these two like it was yesterday. My great-grandma enveloped me in her hugs and sneakily gave me peppernuts long after it was time for bed. My great-grandpa’s hearing aids whistled when I hugged him; he said it was because I was the prettiest girl in the room.
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I’m grateful that my great-gram didn’t swat away the camera just because she had rollers in her hair, or because her teeth weren’t perfectly white or straight. I love that my great-grandpa wore chambray before it was cool, simply because he was a hard-working man who wore practical clothes.
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My life has been forever impacted because of my great-grandparents, who taught me the importance of family, faith, unconditional love and simple happiness. I am who I am because of who they were.
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~shared by @sydneebickett