Something New!

The other day I got an idea to post a picture of one of my most valued possessions and share a brief story about it. Within seconds that idea grew into the idea for a new blog series I will be starting which I'm calling, "Things Around my Apartment". (or "TAMA's" for short.)

(pronounced TahMah) 

Here's how it will work!

Every 2 or 3 weeks I will post about another 'thing around my apartment' that either has a great story behind it or is simply something I like for its uniqueness and how it adds to the character of this apartment.  At the end of each post there will be a link to the TAMA before it so that they can be easily tracked. This will force me to really examine the things around me and work on expressing why things mean as much to me as they do, which will be a slight challenge. - Which, of course, is why I'm looking forward to it so much!

That all being said, my first "thing around my apartment" is

 ::Drum Roll::

This antique picture of my grandparents!

I know I'm biased because they're my family and all but even just setting that aside for the moment, one big, fat, true, never-gonna-change-fact about me is that I love things from the past! And while many of you may think this picture is less than beautiful because it looks as if it has weathered some storms in its day, I love this picture because of that very reason.

Now for the more personal reason this picture pulls at my heartstrings..

  I've grown up hearing so many amazing stories from my dad's side of the family. They've endured a lot. When I think about how my grandmother had to suffer the loss of a husband and a son before she passed away, it gives me so much respect for her. She was able to fight through all of that and still light up a room with her smile by the time I was alive to know her. I still love her so much.  I only wish she had been alive longer so I could've asked her more about her life and gotten to know the person she was before she became my grandmother.

  I never met my grandfather. He had already died by the time I was born.  But I've heard wonderful stories about him and I know he loved his family.  All I have to do is look at him and my heart softens because I see so much of my father's face in his. I know if I'd have met him, I would've loved him.

  My dad says his parents were in college still when this picture was taken.  I stare at it from time to time and just reflect on what the years ahead of them were going to be like; the good and the bad. And then I think:

For that moment in time, they didn't know of any tragic losses to come.  All they knew was their love for each other, and it was enough to keep them together.