a couple of long term projects: The Past and The Present

I am allowing myself to play around with a couple of project ideas, which for simplicity sake I will label THE PAST and THE PRESENT (which is really the present "history")

THE PAST

The first project I am thinking about and working on, is a photo timeline of my family life, right now officially starting 1986, but there will be the before too, because my "growing up years" count and so do Shawn's.  However, I have more access to and control of the pictures from our life starting with the year our family "officially began" (1986).  I started this project when I started preparing the "Justin's life" presentation board for Justin's high school graduation celebration, and then started expanding it when I worked on the "Megan's life" video slide show presentation for Megan's high school graduation.  Since then, on important celebration days, I have reviewed pictures and scanned and/or copied them to a misc folder (which I now have labeled photo timeline). It is very difficult for me to keep dates and places in my head.  When I look at the photos, which are file dated with at least the year and season, it brings back so much more than just a date, place, and topic.  Having spent some time yesterday reviewing, scanning, organizing, etc these picture; and then "watching" them go by in sequence, I found it floods my mind with memories full of the details of experience, not just what I saw, but how I felt, who I was personally and relationally.  This adds value and gratitude for where I am, who I am, and the things and relationships in my life today.  As a sentimental woman and mother, I am aware of the trap of getting stuck in the past, but there is a foundational confidence and assurance, that comes from taking a little time now and again to remember "where I can from" and "how we got here from there".

THE "PRESENT" (sort of)

The other project is only in idea form right now, and simply labeled in my head as "365 todays".  This idea has been birthed from two experiences.  The first (working on the photo timeline) and the second the blurry stumbling while trying to have conversations about my life "today".  My current "today" are often cataloged as very personal and include personal feelings and perspectives, which I feel are a bit inappropriate for general social interaction.   I tend to internally focus in on details that are significantly meaningful to me and "mine", but fail to catalog or make an account of the rest of the adventure of daily life.  I fully believe that we need to be fully present in the present ("body, mind and spirit" / "emotionally-physically, mentally, and spiritually"), and that every "today" contains adventures and opportunities.
So the primary project idea is this:  one picture and one word, phrase or sentence (in my case it might have to start as a paragraph then later be reduced to one word, phrase or sentence) to make an account and be intentionally focused on "today".  The odd thing is that if I can commit to this the project when review is not "THE PRESENT" it will in part become part of the "timeline" narrative.  But I want to be intentional about the adventures and opportunities of "365 todays".  So when do I start???  Tomorrow? *laugh* *sigh* ... Maybe today, I have to figure out how to keep it simple yet focused: one photo, one phrase.

http://365-todays.blogspot.com/