Album

I was putting together, last weekend, an album of photographs for my son's impending birthday, featuring snapshots from when he was a small baby (which was a long time ago) to the present day (which is fairly recent). I don't know if he will appreciate it. Perhaps it will be a source of embarrassment, or even possibly reignite long-suppressed painful memories. Clearly, as a birthday present, neither outcome is desirable, particularly the latter, so it is to be hoped that he will get something positive out of it.

Rarely do we get the chance to take a moment out of our hectic lives to reflect on the years that have slipped by and revisit the significant moments of our youth. I suspect these photographs will not be much help, but may be of some passing interest to demonstrate how much, or indeed how little, his wardrobe has changed over the years. Perhaps for me the process of assembling the album was more therapeutic: sorting through hundreds of old photos, deciding which ones best captured whatever it was I was trying to capture, and working out how to stick them into the album without getting glue everywhere. There is much to be said for actually printing off photographs now and again rather than leaving them as digital files on some device or other, and actually going to the trouble of putting them in an album or hanging them on the wall. Or possibly even printing them on a mug or mouse mat or 10,000 piece jigsaw to give to your friends and relations as thoughtful gifts.