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Thursday, April 08, 2010

Similar

One of the biggest joys of being a scrapbooker is when you start to notice patterns and similarities in your photos.  Its like you locate the string that ties your life to itself and to the lives of those who have come before...

Its tangible...something you always think is there, but don't necessarily see.

Awhile ago, my mother in-law shared some photos of my husband as child. I noticed right away that I had shots of Jayden doing exactly the same things as the photos of his dad - sitting in a toy box, holding a hammer to fix something, climbing in the cupboards, etc. I started to see the string...

As you recall, I asked my mom for family photos for Christmas last year.

She was kind enough to get me a lovely box of amazing pictures...I started tying the strings together the moment I opened that box.

It has been fascinating to me to look at these old pictures and see how the fabric of our lives is so tightly woven.

Fast forward to last Tuesday, a photo shoot with my friend Kat and her gorgeous kids. We did a bunch of group shots, but also great shots of the kids together...we got this picture of Jay and Noah:


And I remembered a very similar photo, right down to the yellow outfits, of my sister and me taken at very similar ages:


I've always thought that Jayden looked just like his dad.  But in this shot, I can see that he and I look VERY much alike. And as I was searching for that photo in the box of old pictures Mom brought to me, I found this one of my dad and his older brother:


And I notice...Jayden, Dad and me all share the same nose and brow line.

PS...all you photographers out there...this is a pose that has been used for children for 63 years? Seriously? I guess you don't fix what isn't broken...

We also managed this shot of Noah. (Believe me, not an easy task.  He was a very serious fellow for this photo session!):


And I remembered a startlingly similar shot of me just a touch older than he is now:


Look at that ear!!! We have that same floppy ear!!! And again the nose.  We have always wondered where Noah got his pronounced little chin.  If you look, it appears I had it once...who knew!?!?!

Its remarkable that we live in a time and place where we have the joy and luxury of comparing photos like this, of seeing ourselves in our children and our parents or grandparents.

How about you?  What do you see in your own shots? What in life ties you together?  Do your kids eat Oreos the same way you do?  Or put on their socks the same way?  What have they learned being a part of your family?

Peace, ya'll!

5 comments:

nancy said...

It makes me happy beyond all reason to see that my nephew Jackson looks like me. I can't describe what a wonderful feeling that is, knowing that I won't get to see kids of my own. I hope he always looks like me!

Mary C. said...

These are cool examples. I love the 'vintage' photos.

sharyncarlson said...

What a wonderful post! Love seeing the resemblences through generations! Will you be turning any of these observations into layouts? :)

Unknown said...

This is probably one of the few things I do "miss" after choosing to not have my own children. I do not resemble my stepkids at all (imagine that), and often wonder... because they have so many of their father's Filipino traits, if any of mine would have come through. It would have been interesting...

elizabeth said...

amazing...i love it!