“Who is that?” My daughter asks as she filters through 100 year old snapshots.

“I never heard their story. I was only a child when I looked at these photos last.”

“Which side of the family are they from?” She looks for any family likenesses.

“They look like dad’s family. I’m glad these didn’t get thrown away.”

“Who is this?”

“I think it’s my great-grandfather. I don’t know much about him. I think he was a grocer. That’s your grandfather when he was a little boy and this is your great-grandmother. I think you look the most like her.”

My daughter squints her eyes to see some resemblance.

My family and their past is in a black and white capsule. Much of what remains is in a shoe box. The family farm is gone and all the antiques burned up in a fire several years ago. I want to carry forth their past but there is so little that I know.

***

Box of sepia prints

few faces recognized

memories lost

*

little hands

smile covered with icing

I still hear that voice

*

brush away tears

people long gone

puddle in kodachrome

*

One of things that we do with family is look at old family photos. There are so many dialogues. One thing is a constant we continue to make memories even as we look at the past.

Enjoy the memory making with family!!