What are some of your favorite pictures and why?

[Kerrytravelers]

I guess I'm feeling a bit sentimental tonight. I just got a scanner and have been scanning pictures all day. Most of them have been Mr. kt and my friends and things we have done. I then came across a ton of family pics and felt that tinge of nostalgia and loss of those who are no longer with us- in my case, my grandparents.


My grandparents sometime after they were married in 1939. I adored them. The fondest memories I have in my life are with them. Grandpa was actually Grandma's third marriage. The first two were drunks and terrible men who were always running around and passed out drunk. My Grandmother was a woman who carried her head high and was very respected by people in their small rural town. Shortly after they were married, Grandma's second husband showed up in town and filed a lawsuit against my Grandpa claiming he had stolen his property- my Grandmother. My Grandpa's defense was the simple fact that my Grandmother wasn't his property. She was a woman and a human being who was equal to him, thereby not his property, but his partner. My Grandpa won (naturally.) Grandma and Grandpa were married 60 years.


Here is Grandma and Grandpa holding my Mother when she is about 1 year or so.


This was my Grandpa's favorite picture of my mother. I was framed and hung on the wall in their bedroom so the last thing he would see as he fell asleep each night was the daughter he loved so much and was so proud of.


My Mother and Dad on their wedding day. My Dad was just out of basic training and they were on their way to Plattsberg, NY the very next day.


My parents are in their 60s now. Here is them about the same age that Mr. kt and I are now (give or take a year.) Sometimes, I forget how old they are since they still work out at the gym everyday, arestill very trim and in great health. Then I see pictures of them looking so young and it reminds me that I have to make the most of the time I have with them.


Here I am with my Grandpa. I always climbed in his lap because no matter how heavy I got on his legs, he never made me get down. He also use to take my hands and let me walk up his legs and flip over. And, unbeknownst to my Mom, he also took me to a parking lot when I was 12 and let me drive his car on a Sunday when no one else was there!


Disneyland 1981.


And sometime between 1989-1991.


Here they are at a church dinner. By this time, Grandpa has Alheizimer's. He had it for 9 years. That whole time, my 5' grandmother took care of my 6'2" grandfather. She did everything for him and very few people helped her. I wanted to take time off from college, but she wouldn't have any of that! He passed away a few days before my Mother's birthday. Within 2 years, my Grandmother passed away. My Mother and I were there, holding her hand as she passed. I was the last person she saw. I will forever cherish those last moments with her.