Your Snow Day assignment

The weather forecast calls for snow...again. What to do on a snowy day? If you're like me, you have stacks, boxes or pages of family photographs. But are they marked with identification? Have you poured through boxes of pictures from your family's past, and lamented that no one ever identified them? If you truly have nothing to do on a snowy day consider pulling out some of those old pictures and identifying them for your family. Let them know which one is Uncle Joe or Cousin Lulu. Better yet, tell the story of how you're related to this batch of photos. I'm not suggesting you start a scrapbook, but maybe that's your next calling. The point is, of course, someone needs to do it....why not you? You're actually accomplishing several tasks. Yes, you're identifying obscure photos so your family will know who is who years after you're no longer around, but perhaps you're also weeding out the duds, the misses and the unidentifiable! That chore could reduce the boxes of long-forgotten "stuff" in your attic or junk room. Haven't you said, several times, you've wanted to do just that? I had a mentor once who was fond of saying "inch by inch, it's a cinch, but yard by yard, it's hard." He was referring to writing your memoirs, but it can be applied to any task. The point is to simply start...somewhere. My suggestion, and the way I've done it, is to start with one box. Pour through and decide what needs to be done with ALL those pictures. Remember when we all had doubles printed? Do you really need two copies of Aunt Bea's prize rose or even one if she's gone and you don't like roses? Or maybe you need just one for your garden idea book? It doesn't belong in a box in the attic either way. How many pictures of your cousin's wedding from 1983 do you really need to remember the event? And who is that standing next to your mother? Will your children know or care in 10 years, or 20? Maybe you'll find a picture of the only trip you ever took to New York, or Europe, or maybe a local historical site. Why did you go? and what happened there? Maybe you can write a short description or explanation to file away with the picture. Or maybe there are a dozen pictures that really do need to go into a scrapbook or that empty photo album you found with the pictures. Maybe you’re into scanning your pictures to preserve them beyond their printed form. Consider it an assignment, with a deadline, the next time it snows. One box or two with each snowstorm could really get a bigger project a long way to completion and a sense of satisfaction for your to-do list and for preserving memories for your family.