Take pictures with your grandparents take lots of them. One day, those photos will be the way you remember your grandma’s sweet laugh or how your grandpa’s eyes lit up when he smiled. Someday, when you want to explain what love looks like to your own kids or grandkids, those photos will help you show them. When time passes and they’re no longer with you, those pictures will be something to hold onto.
I’ve always been close to my grandparents. I grew up on the family farm, running barefoot and wild, always holding my grandma’s or grandpa’s hand. I was never alone.
I still remember the warm breeze blowing through the flowers in my grandma’s garden. I even remember how the not-quite-ripe strawberries tasted. By the time I was six, I could name every flower—because grandma said I couldn’t pick them unless I knew their names. On rainy days, I sat on the porch with my grandpa, listening to his stories and learning from his wisdom.
Even as an adult, I kept making memories with them. After our farm was sold, they moved to Lexington, Kentucky. I went to college there, so I visited often for a hug, a meal, or just to feel better. College was hard, and some nights I cried at their kitchen counter. Grandma wiped my tears with her handkerchief, and grandpa always brought me ice cream to cheer me up. In a world where I didn’t always feel like I fit in, they reminded me that I was always enough.
After college, I moved an hour away, and I often thought about those moments. I’d look through photos of them on my phone and smile but I always wished I had taken more.
One day, I saw a local photographer was offering sunflower photo sessions. At first, I planned to go with my boyfriend, but he had to work. As I thought about who else I could ask, my grandma texted me. That’s when it hit me I should take the photos with my grandparents.
They were thrilled. On the day of the shoot, the weather was perfect. The sunflowers looked like they were welcoming us. Grandma picked out grandpa’s yellow shirt to match. One photo shows her holding my face, just like she did when I was little. Another shows them looking at each other with such love it reminded me of their wedding photos.
That day became one of the best memories of my life.
Time moves fast. Take the photos. Take all of them while you still can.
