What to do with boxes of old photos and stacks of photo albums? They’re stored in the garage and in an old travel trunk. I decided I should scan the best of the best so I would at least have digital images. This task has been on my to-do list since our move and I knew it would take days and days of sorting, scanning and editing. I finally finished it this week! 

I came across photos I had forgotten about and many I didn’t realize I even had. But what I was most surprised by and didn’t expect, were the emotions I experienced from recalling all the memories. I admit I’m extremely emotional right now and a bit on edge as I await the arrival of our first grandson. I thought the distraction of this project would help. It might have done the opposite. Seeing pictures of my grandparents, parents and in-laws with their grandchildren, made me even more impatient. 

There’s nothing quite like holding a printed photo in your hands and remembering the story behind it. I think the cameras on our phones are great but I know I’ve missed being able to touch the photos and fear we’re losing something quite special from our past. For now, I’ll keep the boxes of photos and the albums and also cherish the digital archives. I invite you to travel down a tiny portion of my memory lane with a few of my favorite photos.

My grandpa Cheney passed away in 1968, when I was just six years old. My earliest memories are of him playing his harmonica and sneaking me a sip of his homemade beer. He had 21 grandchildren, and I was his youngest. I don’t remember a lot about him, but I know we adored each other for our short time together. 

One of the greatest gifts I got from my dad was his love of the outdoors. My dad worked to live, and his favorite leisure activity was fishing. Just about every summer we would make the drive to Colorado to my Aunt Rowena and Uncle Howard’s cabin north of Ward. This Polaroid photo was taken in 1977 after we had both caught our limit of trout. Nothings tastes quite as good as a freshly caught trout, fried in a cast iron skillet outside on a Coleman camping stove and served with love by my mom. 

Oklahoma can get some major winter snowstorms. This photo was taken of my niece, Jessa, and daughter, Sarah, one Christmas when the snowfall at our family farm was absolutely gorgeous and a huge snowball war ensued. Our family still owns a portion of land my Busch great-grandparents claimed in the Oklahoma Land Run.

My Party Pics from college brought back so many memories of what were the most carefree and fun times. Although I’ve stayed in touch with many of my sorority sisters, I had lost touch with a couple of my favorites. This photo with Tara Elam sent me on a quest to find her. And I did. We’ve now traded messages and caught up on each other’s lives. She has lived ion England since graduating from OU and worked in education during her career supporting high school students with anything from dyslexia to autism. I always knew she had a heart of gold, or should I say silver and bordeaux?

Three generations of Hartleys captured with a Polaroid camera in 1989, when Tyler was born. And now we excitedly wait for another generation of a Hartley/Pigott son to arrive.

Perhaps this photo best represents why Santa Fe has always captured my heart. My kids hiking where they both learned to ski at Ski Santa Fe. It was a favorite vacation destination of our family and now we get to live here. Every time I hike or ski right where this photo was taken, I remember just how special times were with our younger kids and how many more memories we are creating now with our grown children and their families.

I invite you to take your own stroll down memory lane. I think you’ll be surprised what you find and how many emotions you will discover.