Our etch-a-sketch moments

Every summer we made the 8 hour drive from Buffalo to Bobcaygeon, our 2 week vacation destination in northern Ontario. The 'we' was my parents and me in one car and Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Bob in another and all of us in a large cabin on the lake. Each night after dinner we played cards which I enjoyed, but I would eventually leave them to their 4-handed games and go outside, ending the evening sitting on the dock. As my feet dangled in the water and I watched the moon rise across the lake, my mind could wander wherever it wanted while I enjoyed the gentle sounds of the night. 

In today's world it is so easy to snap a picture of a moment, be it beautiful or ironic or important or tragic or silly. I heard that studies are showing that we are not enjoying or actually being in-the-moment because we are too busy recording it. I'm probably a less-than-average photo scrapbooker, I think mostly because I don't post anything other than these musings on social media. Last weekend a friend and I spent a long time by the baby snowy owls at Lincoln Park Zoo and, I'll admit, I wanted to make sure that I had a couple of pictures which I've shown a few people. Mostly we just stood and marveled. We talked to others who happened to stop by the rather out of the way spot, but they all took a picture and moved on. They can say they saw the owlets. We can say we watched them.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all in favor of photographs. My walls are covered with them, some more than a hundred years old and others are ones I took that I had printed on canvas. While a photo captures a moment, it's the feeling, the place, the people I was with that I talk about when visitors ask about any of my pictures. I can still conjure up in my mind the moonlight on the water from all those decades ago, but it's the peaceful feeling that makes me smile. I can shake my head, and like the etch a sketch, shift the picture but remember the feeling. If you are like me, there are many photos on your phone that you could (and perhaps should) delete to make room for your next adventure. Take a few moments this week to revisit your photo gallery and the moments recorded there. See what you need and want to keep and make sure they are safely stored and then etch a sketch away all the others.

Marilyn