Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt. – Susan Sontag

My father’s parents. I only knew Kay, but from all accounts, Harlan was a disciplined, hard-working, loving, family man.

Recently, my father’s side of the family has been on a tear, sharing photos like this one in a private group on Facebook. Each time the page pings with a new notification, I hastily hit refresh, and I am always excited for what awaits.

Inspired by their activity, I spent part of today organizing prints from my life, dating back to the late 1980s captures from my earliest Burger King camera. Evoking all kinds of emotions, these reminders of my past have a way of dredging up laughter, tears, ignorance, insecurity, and of course a wistfulness. It was encouraging.

In a time when we can capture and hold tens-of-thousands of images in a small device, I highly recommend returning from time-to-time to those photos, those memories past. It has allowed me and it may allow you the truest assessment of not only where you’ve been, but also where perhaps you might go. ~shared by @maxwastler