A Timeline of Events
Do you ever get the feeling that all the years are meshing together into one big confusing blob? Josh and I have only been married seven years, and James is only five, but already I have trouble remembering what year things happened.
Like when did we go on that first vacation to Pensacola to meet Josh’s family? When did we replace all our copper pipes? Did I really start The Duchess in 2008, or was it 2007?
While these things might seem trivial, I realized their importance today as I realized the date on my camera has been wrong since I bought it (I think that was 2010???). Previously I’d been using the date on photos to organize them into folders, but only now I realized that those dates are totally off!
So working through these folders, I’m suddenly seeing pictures of James ranging from a tiny baby in 2007 to a robust toddler in 2009, and there’s really no way to know what order these should go in without some frame of reference for what was going on in our lives when the photo was taken.
For example: I know the kitchen was majorly remodeled in 2009, so this photo of me changing the light fixture in the old kitchen had to happen in 2008 or earlier, judging from the fact that James is in that old walker.
This might seem silly, but I know how easy it is to forget these details! Exactly how many Halloween costumes can I keep in my head before they all start blurring together? Apparently 5 is my limit!
I think it’s nice to have a solid record of events so today I’m compiling a timeline from the day Josh and I met in 2002 to now.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since that day in the cafeteria of UNCA when a friend introduced us, but that’s yet another reminder of why this record is important: time passes quicker than we realize.
Once I get the timeline finished, I think it’s high time I sat down with all the photos of James and a book of his baby photos from 0 to 5 years. I’ve learned from experience that the more years that go by, the harder this gets because the job just gets bigger and bigger.
I’m off to sort photos and figure out dates!
Leah Day
I thought is was just me that had no concept of time…haha. My birthday was friday. A friend asked how old I was. I said 43. Later I realized I'm only 42……that is pretty bad.
so true, throw in another kid or two. and you won't remember who did what and when…. I'm 33wks with #3 and I'm already NOT taking pics every few weeks on the growing belly and other stuff. this kid is going to come out and be content with whatever we do and tag along and be okay with not being in so many pics as my other two etc.
I don't know. I think we tend to live for now and the future. The past got us here, but the present is much more important. I title folders and dump pictures into them. I burn them off every year or so. That works for me. Good luck with your folder labeling!!
Leah ! it is true, document as much as you can… the older you get the faster time goes by, therefore you can't ponder things as long, and whoosh… it all melds together in what we call the past… I'm a grandmama now to two little boys (and a few in heaven), and taking billions of photos, and keeping them in folders on the computer (all backed up)so I can remember! Look at James, already had his first graduation ceremony this year! Happy documenting dear.
Godspeed,
mary
You're so smart to tackle this now – It only get blurrier the older you get. My camera has always been wrong and the folders on my computer mix the years together too! I miss the old days when photos printed the date on the back of the pictures.
Enjoy it all.
The only way I can date my son's earlier pics is by his teeth lol. He didn't get his first baby tooth until 14 months, and straightened up his front teeth when he lost his soother a week before turning 3. His last tooth to arrive was a lower incisor, just before age 4, I was convinced it was missing. So, no. You're not alone in this 🙂
Scrapbooking is my form of journaling, with pictures and words. I like to know when things happened, but if I don't record it somehow, I simply cannot remember.
Have you looked into Project Life? It's a good method for organizing and/or scrapbooking your memories that can be as easy or as hard as you make it.
I know exactly how you feel. I created a timeline on a spreadsheet as well, so I could better date my photos = I put all the houses of myself and all the family members, cars, pets, all in an effort to help narrow down the dates. One tip I learned is that when your child goes to school, have him hold up the number of fingers on that back to school photo for the grade he is in. That helps a bit as well.