Family History Month: The Envelope Project

Envelope 1992, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

While my parents were both still living, I bought a photo box and a box of  plain, white envelopes so that they could easily start grouping the loose photos and putting them in envelopes. Hey, it was a plan.

I asked my mother to label each envelope so we could go over them together when I came to visit. On newer photos, I asked her to write the date and the place.

I had given her my old camera and some film and told them that I would pay for any photos they took. That part went fairly well and I do have some real treasures. 

My mother started out with the envelope project with great gusto but as my father got sicker, she began to have trouble focusing on our project. After my Dad died, we worked on it together but she was getting very vague and disinterested. That's dementia.

Today, I opened the box and starting looking for photos to blog about. As things always go, I pulled out a previously overlooked envelope and laughed out loud. Hubs came to look.

Notice the envelope is "dated" Thursday.  Hubs said, "Yes, that's how your mother thought!"

I was hoping the year was on the photos. Inside was this great photo of my Dad and a lot of scenery pictures.

The back of the photo was a big surprise. Dad labeled it. It gives the location (so I now know where the other photos in the envelope were taken Narragansett, RI). Mom did put the year, 1992. 

But, my father left me this message.

"Still have hair. Can't say the same for teeth." 

Yup, that's Family History.