Sunday, February 7, 2010

Family Pictures

We just installed Aperture on our imac.
It gave us a great opportunity to filter through all our family photos.
This is a quick and easy way to mediate self-change and belonging to your children.
First of all, the self-change is evident. Hair was longer (or shorter). Clothes used to fit. Teeth were there now they are gone and we're awaiting the new set to come in.
So much has changed.
But along with those changes are the glorious memories attached to the self-change. The memories, the oh-yeah-I-remember-that, and wow! that was the first time we ever... are all comments that contribute to a sense of belonging.
You belong here.
We belong together.
We are family.
We change together. We grow. We learned new things that we didn't know before.
Take a moment this week to go through your photo albums (online or in a bound book). Talk about the achievements and the milestones. Remember that you have made some great memories along the way.
And then tuck some of those memories into your pocket and use them later this week when you BRIDGE something for your kids. Remind them how they have changed and grown and how they have conquered new challenges. Remind them that life goes in seasons. Remind them that this hurdle will one day be another memory to add to the pages of your family's story.

No comments: