Fuzzy Images of the Mind | Michele Jeanine Photography serving MD DC VADon't miss the best moments!

Lately, as I listen to my youngest child talk about stopping time and writing stories about time machines, I realize that his fantasies express man's age old desire to hold on to precious moments. Human beings have always wanted to discover a way to make life permanent or find the fountain of youth, but until we unearth the secret of eternity, those moments might just become fuzzy, dream-like memories ...at least for some of us. 

I think I'm hooked on photography because images are my only chance to forever capture an instant that would otherwise become a fleeting, distorted memory, if it were remembered at all. A perfect example of a distorted perspective is my spotty recall of my own five children; their infant development has all blended together in my mind! When I try to remember different stages for each child, it seems they must have reached their individual milestones at just about the same points as their siblings did, because the truly remarkable nature of these events wasn't enough to keep the details from slipping away. If I only had a photograph to bring it back!

Now that I have stepped out of the hustle and bustle of changing diapers and buckling four children under the age of seven into carseats, only a few distinct recollections remain which have been preserved in my memory banks because, either there was something particularly unique about them, I happened to jot a note about them in a baby book, or best of all, I have a photo that brings back more than a thousand words. Certainly, where I don't have a photograph, the details of their wrinkled newborn skin, lanugo covered bodies and wispy forehead hairs are as far from my mind as the angelic coos from their bassinets and their toothless elementary-age grins.

Do we ever have enough images to surround ourselves with the same warm feelings that our infants brought us when they were first born, I wonder? I took a lot of photos over the years, yet even now I deeply regret not ever having had professional images taken of my children. I know firsthand how infants change from week to week and how mothers want to relive those first two weeks of life for many years to come.

I guarantee that someday, your heirloom images in tabletop frames and nostalgic collages decorating the walls will transport you back in time in a way that nothing else can. The people I have loved dearly surround me on my counters, tables and walls, and glimpses of many of the moments we have treasured together over the years hang there with loyal enthusiasm. Although I am missing what would have probably been favorite images of my babies, my wall frames depict old and new relationships, almost giving me a hug every morning as I drink my tea and start my day. They are reminders of the past, of innocence, and also of change.

Let your home become a museum of family keepsakes, filled with quality professional images which set the mood for your guests and share the spirit of the personalities you treasure. Professional photographs will always bring tears of joy and reminders of those we so dearly miss, and the images of your children will glow on your walls with the hope of the future. Precious heirloom quality imagery can easily become your personal time machine and your very own fountain of youth.

This post is dedicated to the precious memory of my daughter, Dana Monique Hutchinson (June 14, 1991 to September 25, 1994) of whom I wish I had more photographs.