The last of the photo albums

Four years ago when we moved back from France I began to shed the 18 boxes of photo albums that span the years from middle school to adulthood. Each album was special at the time and currently looked like the rats had a bit of a snack, the mold got to the corners, and the photos were all but glamorous. But they were mine. 

Determined not to lug 18 boxes of very heavy albums anymore I began to sort, throw away and only keep the top 10-20 photos in each album. Stacking them into little plastic boxes bought at the Container Store my 18 boxes was reduced to 6 and I could easily carry two photo boxes under each arm and in each hand. 

The other 6 -- well they just didnt get done. 

Now it is time for another move as we bought a new house north of the Golden Gate Bridge with plenty of storage. Yet, I refuse to bring the moldy albums with. As a result i spent the afternoon sorting and determining which to keep in albums and which to place in my handy Container Storage Box #5. 

Keep the High School albums (can't take them apart anyways). Keep the 500 postcards written by my Dad to his mom and us kids throughout the years. Each one was a 4 line poem that described life. Keep the wedding photo album and the album that depicted the time when Jean and I met and lived freely on the Kibbutz in Israel on the Red Sea near Eilat. My journals and a box of Jean's.  Keep Jean's 2 childhood albums and a few assorted photos. A total of 4 boxes in all. 

That left me with an additional 8 BIG albums to sort through. The feeling of emptying, cleaning, sorting, and only keeping the best is amazing. The ability to not carry so much baggage to the next house is freeing. The knowledge that I can actually take a Container store Photo Box and find what I want to view in 3 minutes if gratifying. 

Yes, Life is one big photo, but how many photos of the same tree or the London Bridge does one need? I say one or maybe none.. After all how many photos of wart hogs do you need?