Yesterday & Today: One More Layout

A few weeks ago, right before we left on vacation, I finished this layout for Ali Edwards' Yesterday & Today class.

This was one of the more time-consuming layouts in the class (because I had to track down old family photographs, scan, and print them), but it is also one of my favorites.


Because many of my blog readers are family members, I want to take a moment to identify the people in the photographs above.

Top row (left to right): My maternal great-great grandmother; my paternal grandmother + her daughter, Kathy; my maternal grandfather (who was captain of the football team at the University of Maine); my dad and his siblings (my dad is the tall one in the middle); my mom and her siblings (my mom is on the left).

Middle row (left to right): My paternal grandmother (flanked by her parents); my maternal great-grandmother; my mom and dad on their wedding day; my paternal great-great grandmothers; my maternal great-grandfather.

Bottom row (left to right): My dad at age 2 (so adorable); my mom and dad (before I came along).


Here is a close-up shot of the left page, filled mostly with older family photographs...


...and a close-up of the right page, which contains newer pictures--all of which are in color. Check out the picture of my mom and aunt Susie sporting bikini tops and cut-off jean shorts in the top left corner. Every time I see that picture, I smile!


And last, but not least, here is the journaling:

As I gaze at this collection of family photographs, I stop to admire the facial expressions, the physical traits, the clothing of the people. We are related by blood and marriage; their stories are woven into my story. I know some of these people very well. Others, I have heard stories about, but never met personally. I am grateful to all of my ancestors, for I am alive today because of the choices they made. As I stare into the eyes of these people, I try to imagine what life was like for them. My mind is flooded with questions like: What were their dreams? What struggles did they endure? Whom did they love? Studying old photographs forces me to think about the passage of time. How time never stops. How life goes on. How we are only on this earth for a short period of time. Reflecting on the past helps me cherish the present all the more.

Hope you had a great weekend.

J