Priceless Memories and Photos

Photographs are such a comfort to me these days as I mourn the loss of Mom. I began the project of going through some of the family albums with her over a year ago. As we were preparing for Mom's Visitation and Memorial services, it was my honor to put together a memory photo board for Mom. What was difficult about it was to only use one board when there could have been hundreds highlighting the various ages and stages of her life. Now that we are back home, I find myself with so many images of Vera, and I know I am going to miss her terribly. Our Nelson family celebrated her full, long life in Colorado this past weekend; more details are available on Linnea's and Anne's blogs to link to on the right of my blog, should you care to see more of these actual events. It was a very powerful time for all of us. Peter and John are looking through one of the realy old albums. Even though I had seen these albums before, there were many surprises to be found like seeing an article about Mom singing on a radio station, her position as a forward on the basketball team (remember she was barely 5 feet tall!), and an autographed napkin bearing my Dad's signature on it long before they were an "item." Anne is looking at a more recent album of Mom's life after she moved back to Illionis in 2004 - 2005. Here Linnea, Duane and Timi look at an old photo album that Mom had put together of Duane's family. Our family on April 12, 2008. Who knew that on March 4, 1945 when Mom and Dad were married that by this date we would number 22, with two more on the way? Their human legacy will continue to grow.

We're all back in our homes and lives now. Fresh heartaches for all. Yet, somehow, each of us has a frozen moment or two from the weekend that we will forever hold close in our hearts as we remembered a special woman and the full life she lived. And, due to the camera lens, we will be able to relive our family time together in picture format now and to pass along to the generations to come.