Memories and Growth:
A Wild Card Project
Carol Onufer. A name that has not been mentioned in my project but deserves to be shown off. Journeying back to 2004, my dad tears up to the news of his worst fear. He just learned that his previously radiant mother had lost the battle to lung cancer. No one could process that such a healthy and kind woman could be hit with such a disastrous disease and be taken so quickly. It was a terrible year of mourning for the whole family, and everything was never the same. I called her G’mal. My sister and I are the only one of her grandchildren, aside from my two cousins, that ever got to meet her. Unfortunately, my memories are faint. I remember her from the stories I am told from my father reminiscing on his past. I remember her from the few times that I was graced with her presence. I remember her from the photos she took and passed onto my family.
For my paper, I was going to do another simple essay on an old book, however after talking to my grandfather on the phone, I realized I needed to carry on her memory and the memories of my own family, so they can never be forgotten. My grandfather always says, “I wish you could have known her”, and I wouldn’t know her at all if I wasn’t shown pictures or heard her stories. That is why I want to show the memories she captured. She loved to capture the beauty in the world, anything that made her happy, she took a picture of. It is a way to remember.
The family owned a home on Edisto Island. The calm and remote island was breathtaking alongside aesthetics. Pelicans would swim in the water and fly high in the sky as if there was nobody watching. Waves would crash along the shores and underneath the peers as people walked barefoot along the beach soaking in the ocean air. She loved to capture these moments; it was a way to go back to the moment. Her summer home was not the only images she loved to capture, but as said, the things that made her happy. Her family.
My grandmother happened raised a very wild child. Of course, the wild child was my dad, and she got pictures along the way showing his free spirit personality. As a kid, he was very athletic and could play just about any sport that was named. My grandmother captured many of his accomplishments and his goofy mischievous photos. She also made scrap books and books for her children. One she made was a picture book, but it was personalized to my dad.
As time went on, my dad continued to dabble in being mischievous. He was a jokester, loved to have fun, and never wanted to settle down. My grandfather knew he needed some direction in his life, so my dad was sent to the military in exchange for a car when he returned home. He joined the Navy, and one of his jobs was to chain planes onto the boats once they landed. He tied down the same type of planes that my great-grandfather flew in the army. It was a full circle, the military gave him the push he needed to start his life. After getting back from The Navy, he moved to Georgia and went to a two-year institution.
Racing down the highway one day, my dad came up to a car. He looked over and realized it was a pretty girl in the car and decided to rev his engine for a race. She looked over, smirked, and zoomed ahead of him. He smiled and started to catch up to the girl, and they raced side by side until finally, they reached the exit of the highway. The girl was my mom. I get told the story all the time, not many people can say they met their soulmate racing down Georgia 400. My mom tells me at first she thought my dad was stalking her because he got off at the same exit and followed her all the way to work. She sat in her car until the strange man went into the building next to where she worked. As fate had it, at the end of the workday, my dad and mom exited the buildings of their workplaces only to find out they worked right next to each other. They introduced themselves and the rest is history. Of course, my grandmother took a picture of the first time my dad brought my mother home, for he didn’t just take any girl to meet his family.
October of 1999, my parents got married and soon after, May 8, 2000, I was born. From doing the math of the time they got married to when I was born, I learned that I was the reason my parents got married. However, me being born was the push for them to get married not the reason they stayed together. They learned that they balance each other out; they needed each other. My mom calmed down my dad, and my dad taught my mom to have fun. It was an unlikely match, but my coming into the world tied them together while their love continued to grow. Of any baby pictures that my grandma had, she had taken the most of me. She was so happy that her son had finally settled down and given her a grandchild of her own.
After I was born, my family continued to grow one child at a time. The next child was my sister, Caroline, who only came 21 short months after me. She was the only one who got to meet my grandmother as well. Every time we were with my grandparents, we always took a picture.
After these pictures, my grandmother passed away. No more of my siblings were able to get a picture with her. However, that is why we always take family pictures now because it is important to keep the memories and stories of each and every photo. You never know when you’re going to lose someone. Recently, as in a few days ago, I lost my fourth birthday present. Her name was Molly, and she was a small and loving dog that has always been there for me for as long as I can remember. I found pictures from the first day I got her while looking for old family photos, and I also have one of her days before she passed away.
I say this because I have a four-year-old sister who will never know Molly; she may have faint memories of her, but she will never know her. Just as how I am with my grandmother, that is why it is so important to keep memories alive through pictures and stories. And, as a family grows, taking pictures and talking about the past will keep the memories of the lost alive forever. As my family grows, we always take a family picture because, just as my grandmother, we find it important to capture the happiness of our loved ones. For each day comes with more growth, mentally and physically, and the growth of my family is what keeps us together. The evolution of our family photo is many steps, and they just get crazier each year, but they show our love for one another.
All in all, we all have our own memories of the growth of our families. Each day means a different thing to each person, and it is up to us to share our stories with others. Through pictures and stories, we can achieve this, and we can keep our loved ones alive forever. One day, generations from now, I will be the ancestor someone is looking for, and I want the memories of my life to be remembered for as long as they can. So, from now on, I will capture the beauty of the things that make me happiest, my family.
