This is a precious moment, but it is transient. It is a little parenthesis in eternity~Deepak Chopra
This winter we are sifting through thousands of photos, slides, and negatives shot over decades, digitizing them, and creating a memory book for our son. One of the pleasures of taking a visual step back in time is remembering precious moments with friends and family. So, for Amy’s LAPC #127 Precious Moments challenge this week, I’m sharing some treasured memories captured while traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Some of the photos, like the ones above, go back to the last century, when my husband and I were children. (That’s me in the photo on the left with my parents and two older cousins. My husband is the little boy on the right, pictured with his mom.). Others are more recent and highlight wonderful times when we traveled with our son.
It is very wrong for people to feel deeply sad when they lose some money, yet when they waste the precious moments of their lives they do not have the slightest feeling of repentance.~Dalai Lama
I’ll never forget this Sunday morning when we were exploring Paris for the first time. Our son was about the same age as this boy in the photo who was sailing a toy boat in the Jardin de Luxembourg with his father.
Life’s most precious moments are not all loud or uproarious. Silence and stillness has its own virtues.― Kilroy J. Oldster
I was astounded by this view of Vernazza when we first saw it with our son. It is one of the 5 Italian villages that comprise the Cinque Terre, along the Ligurian coast. We had hiked part of the Sentiero Azzuro, a famous footpath that connects the 5 villages of Monterosso , Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
When you die and go to heaven our maker is not going to ask, ‘Why didn’t you discover the cure for such and such? Why didn’t you become the Messiah?’ The only question we will be asked in that precious moment is ‘Why didn’t you become you?’~Elie Wiesel
In this final set of images, you can see a precious moment in the life of my grandmother Marie and her sister Bertha taken in 1921. On the front of the image, she added their names and the description of their pink dresses. The back of the photo has her handwritten information about where the photo was taken and the date. It’s among a handful of precious images passed down to me from my grandmother who was born in Brooklyn around the turn of the century and died in the 1990’s. During World War II, she worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” in a defense plant on Long Island. When one of us complained about life being difficult, she’d say, “Don’t worry. The first 100 years are the hardest.”
This week, we invite you to join Amy’s Precious Moments challenge. Her wonderful images from her travels are a real treat, so be sure to stop by her site. She tells us to include captures of precious moment taken while traveling, during holidays, and/or while spending time with family and friends. In your post, include a link to Amy’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag so that everyone can find your post in the WP Reader. We hope you join the fun!
Your contributions to last week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #126: An Alphabet Challenge were a wonderful smorgasbord of images starting with the letter A. Your photos ran the gamut from antler, aperitif, the Atlantic Ocean and Australia to angels, arachnid, and adoration. Fabulous! Your posts were a visual treat. We’re delighted that you joined us.
Next week, it’s Ann-Christine‘s turn to lead the challenge on Saturday, December 19th, so be sure to visit her beautiful site.
In closing, once again I’d like to give special thanks to all of you in our creative community for your continued participation, support, enthusiasm, and creativity. You always inspire us! I hope you have a wonderful, creative week and please stay safe.
Categories: LENS-ARTISTS, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Photography
P.A. Moed 
Lovely images and memories. I’m impressed with your organization and goal to share photos and memories with your son. You may have inspired us to do something similar this winter.
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Hi, Rusha. Thanks so much! We asked our son if he wanted a memory book of photos or thousands of photos. He immediately accepted the book! I hope you try it, too. Glad we inspired you!
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I love the photo of you and your husband when both of you were children. The image of your grandmother is indeed precious. Your son will treasure this memory book for a long time. Thank you, Patti for sharing your precious moments and memories through this theme. I am honored.
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Hi, Amy. Thanks! Those photos are precious. And thanks for your inspiration this week! It came at a perfect time as we create a memory book for him. I enjoyed your theme very much.
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I was in Cinque Terre! the houses were painted in red blue green or yellow long ago so that the sailors would see where is the land and would come back home safe. Its a the Unesco object
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Hi, Alantenna. I’m glad to meet you here. Isn’t Cinque Terre wonderful? Yes, I remember that detail about the color of the houses, too. It is a UNESCO heritage site now. When I visited it many years ago, it was before the crowds came. What a special place. Thanks for stopping by!
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Family and travel are precious moments. Beautiful photography of you travels and of your family pictures!
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Hi, Anne. Many thanks! I am so happy that our son LOVES to travel now. We’re planning some trips post-Covid already! I appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!
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Great post!
Excellent photos and the quotes resonate.
Precious moments are priceless.
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Yes, Nes. That is true. They are priceless. And thanks too for your thoughts on these photos! Always appreciated and always grateful for the feedback. Take care and stay well.
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Strange the things that weave our stories together, Patti. My mother threw rivets in those WW2 days… and met my Dad 🙂 🙂
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Really?!? Fascinating! So, we have that in common, in addition to loving dessert.😀
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My brother and I love to go through old photos from our family files. WE are the only ones left, but I digitized most of them anyway. Thank you for sharing your family, Patti. Have a wonderful week. 🙂
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Hi, Marsha. You are far ahead of us, then. It’s going to be a process! I’m glad you can share memories with him. Take care and have a wonderful week, too.
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Enjoy all the sharing times, Patti.
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The memory book sounds wonderful and I thought I enjoyed the first photo the most until I got to the one with the slider. 🙂 And I love the quotes, including the first 100 years one. Hope you’re having a marvelous weekend.
janet
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Hi, Janet. Thanks! I’m delighted you enjoyed them. I love that my grandma recorded these details on the photos, so we get a little bit of history at the same time. Have a wonderful weekend, too.
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I love your old photos!!
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Hi, Nora. Many thanks! These are really special.
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Very nice post Patti…so much fun to look thru old family photos. And it certainly is a project to digitize them but worth it when it’s done 🙂
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Hi, Andy. Yes, it is a project. I’m astounded at how many bad photos there are!! We gave our son a cheap camera when he was in nursery school, so we have many pictures of people’s feet, heads, and buildings on a slant. It’s fun to remember these precious moments. I enjoyed your post, too. There are many wonderful old buildings that shouldn’t be demolished. Take care and enjoy the weekend.
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Besutiful quote from Elie Wiesel. What a lovely thing you are doing for your son. For as long as I remember. my mother had a photo album for me, and another for my brother. I see its use now.
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Hi, IJ. Isn’t that quote wonderful? I love his writing. And thanks for the encouraging words about the photo book! I’m glad you have that gift from your mother.
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A wonderful idea. When my father turned 80, a few years ago, we did a similar project. We assembled a photobook for him with old family photos and places where he grew up. He loved it.
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I also loved your image of the waterfall in Iceland, Andre. It’s fabulous. Thanks for your encouraging words about the photo book. It’s going to take a few months, I think, to get it organized!
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you’re welcome, Patti. And, yes, such a photobook is a lot of work. Much more work than it seems to be, when looking at the final book
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Yes, very true.
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Lovely post.
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Thank you so much, Sherry! I appreciate that you took the time to write your thoughts and I’m delighted that you did.
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🤗
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Ah, lovely collection of memories!
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Many thanks, Sue! They are precious! Take care and stay well.
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Thank you., Patti, you stay safe and well
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Cheers to precious moments. As soon as I saw the image, I proclaimed Vernazza! What a walk from Monterosso … but we continued to the other villages by train. Thanks for the reminder of a glorious day.
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Hi, Frank. We did the same thing–hike and the train. It was many years ago, but still a vivid memory. I’m glad you had the same experience. And the food….fabulous, too! Thanks for stopping by! Much appreciated.
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Such a beautiful area. … and yes … the food! Then again, Italian food is my culinary love.
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Mine, too.😀
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I have been in several years, so I’m getting the itch.
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This challenge is a perfect opportunity to share each of our own precious moments. Your own collection of memories here really bring home the quote of your story. I will need to consider for myself, “Why didn’t you become you?”
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That quote is profound and a bit sobering, too. That is the main challenge in life, isn’t it? Looking forward to seeing your precious moments, too, John.
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I love these old photographs Patti and what a wonderful gift you are creating for your son and future generations to enjoy 🤗💜 xxx
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Hi, Xenia. Thank you! I love the stories these old photographs tell. We are hoping to create a book he’ll treasure and pass down to his loved ones. I hope you join us!
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A wonderful look into your world and the olden days, Patti! So Love the slider image with your grandmother and her sister – and of you and your husbands as very young! Oh, what a great gift you are preparing for your son – a real treasure for him as long as he lives. The best gift to get.
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Hi, AC. It’s going to take some work, to sort through the images and organize them, but I want to give him a book he’ll treasure. I’m going to try the company Tina recommended. I’m glad you enjoyed my precious moments! We were cute little kids, weren’t we??!!?? I always love “hearing” your thoughts. Enjoy the new week ahead.
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Yes, cute little kids once we were – and now hopefully lovely grown-ups with our heads turned the right way!
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Very true, AC!!
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Wonderful walk down memory lane Patti – loved the young photos of you especially. And I too treasure the old photos of people like my grandmother when they were young. Such a great treat to see them as they were so long ago. BtW, hope your son doesn’t read your blog or you’ve spoiled your surprise. Interestingly I did the same thing for Bailey by updating the book I did for our 25th anniversary with new images taken since. Hasn’t arrived yet so will hold it until Christmas altho it was supposed to be for Chanukah 😡
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Hi, Tina. Thank you! No worries. The book isn’t a surprise. We wanted to make sure he liked the idea first! I’m trying the company you recommended. I know you had great results. I love that idea of giving Bailey a book. Wonderful!!
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Yay, let me know how you like the product!
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That is an amazing thing to do for your son, . Wonder if I have the patience to do it too…my photos are all in boxes at the moment. And thanks for taking us for a lovely memory walk, Patti.
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Hi, Teresa. Thanks! It’s going to take a few months, but it will be fun (I hope!). I’m glad you enjoyed these memories! Take care.
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You take care too!
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These are lovely and precious memories, Patti. Thank you for sharing.
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You’ve very welcome, Miriam! I hope all’s well.
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Thank you, Patti! We’re careful.
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Those colorful buildings in Italy are so beautiful ! The water looks so warm and inviting.
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Yes, it does! The buildings are wonderful, aren’t they? I love the bright colors. Hope all’s well with you, too.
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I went to Cinque Terre five years ago. It was recommended by a friend that I should add it to my itinerary. It’s beautiful like I’ve seen in the photos. I believe when my friend went I believe 8 or 9 years ago, it was not a popular tourist destination. But when I went it was crazy crowded!
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Hi, Julie. I heard that, too. I went in the 1990’s, so it was relatively undiscovered by tourists. A great experience. I’m sure it’s changed a lot!
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Truly the most precious moments
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Thank you, Kyle. I’m glad you stopped by and shared your thoughts!
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