Feeling Nostalgic

Today is the first day of the new school year for most of the kids in the Des Moines area. I knew this immediately when I drove Hogan (the dog) to a park for our morning walk.

Buses were rolling everywhere. Kids congregated on corners, waiting for them. I also saw the neighbor photographing her ready-for-school, backpack clad daughter. It made me fondly remember all the years I took first-day photos of our two children who are now 33 and 29 years old.

I've been looking through piles of loose photos - oh what a trip down memory lane! And it's long past time to get the pictures organized. Yikes. I couldn't find our son's first-day-of-school picture, though I searched in several likely places.

Here's what I did find: our daughter's first day of kindergarten in 1981. I always loved her French-braided hair.

And here she is a few years later, in 1987, with her little brother. She's ready for sixth grade; he's ready for second grade. He never liked wearing blue jeans, insisting sweatpants were more comfortable. I made them in a variety of colors, for much less money than the price of jeans.

Now back to the photos strewn all over the bedroom. I wish I'd done a better job taking care of them... twin prints, negatives, and professional photos. Many of them have turned orange. I really appreciate that our digital age makes photo-taking and storage more efficient.