It’s definitely not the second Friday of the month, which is the day I usually open a new exhibit in the Museum of Me. But things have been a bit discombobulated around here lately; not so organized or calendar-focused. So . . . let’s just pretend that I’m right on time with this latest exhibit in the . . .
This month’s exhibit is supposed to be rather low maintenance. Just a childhood photo . . . that most captures the ME of today. Just one silly photo. That should be easy, huh? But, well. It’s really not.
While I’m lucky to have a fairly extensive stack of childhood photos to choose from, it’s tough to choose one that captures who I am NOW, all these decades later. Most of my childhood photos are not terribly representative of ME . . . because most of them are very posed. Often in front of pieces of furniture. Or a door. Or some Place Of Interest. I’m often with my sister, and we’re often all spiffed up in our fanciest clothes. And our hair is so often curled and “fixed,” which really didn’t happen that often.
Most of the photos of me as a child are passive (standing in front of furniture with my sister, for example). And I was an active kid; my hair was usually a tangle and I wasn’t sitting up straight and a lot of times I was DOING something. But you’d never know that from my childhood photos!
After combing through my stack, I think this might be the one that captures ME (now) . . . best.
It’s July 1966. I’m sitting on our back stoop (that’s what we called it) with my sister and our cat, Sylvester. I was 7 (between 1st and 2nd grades), and my sister was 4.
And just what makes this a photo that captures the ME of today . . . 56 years later?
Well. Mostly . . . it’s just me; authentic me. Like the real, kid-version of who I still am on a day-to-day basis. I’m not wearing fussy clothes. I’m not posed. My hair is not curled. It’s just pulled back to keep it out of my eyes. I have a bandaid. I’m squinting. And slouching. I’m tan from running around outside all the time. You can kinda tell that I’m ready to just take off for the day — full of energy and ideas; ready to launch myself into a new day. (I can tell it’s morning . . . because I’m wearing shoes and socks. By the end of the day, you can bet I was searching for them.)
Mostly, I’m just happy.
I was a happy kid, and I liked my kid-life. My family. My cat. My friends. My days.
And I think that’s mostly like the ME now . . .
Generally happy.
Full of ideas.
Ready to go.
Energetic.
Not fussy.
Real.
(Fewer bandaids now, though.)
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How about YOU? Do you think you could find a childhood photo that captures who you are today? And what might it capture?
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Thanks for visiting the Museum of Me. Watch for new exhibits . . . on the 2nd Friday of each month. (For now, that link will send you back over to Stepping Away From the Edge. Eventually, I’ll be relocating the entire Museum of Me here to the new blog, but I haven’t managed that yet.)
If you’re a blogger and you’d like to create a Museum of Me along with me on your own blog, let me know. I’ll send you my “exhibit schedule” (a list of monthly prompts) and we can tell our stories together.
I like that photo of then Kym and how she compares to you now! I do love the bandaid… a well-lived childhood should include a bandaid or two! How did you sister get flip-flops? Lucky girl!
That observation made me smile! Knowing it was morning…shoes + socks still on. First glimpse of this photo? Your son looks so much like you! Your smiles! (Based on my memory of previous posts with your kiddos in them…)
Wishing you another happy day today.
I think this photo reflects you now, except for the shoes and socks! I did wonder why Diane was wearing flip-flops and you had on shoes and socks, but maybe you were going to run off and jump on your bike to play with neighborhood kids. Happy, energetic, full of ideas, and not fussy are all wonderful characteristics – then and now!
Ha! Love this photo. I, too, wondered why you had shoes and socks on and your sister was in flip flps. and I love the bandaid (just yesterday I had to put on on my thumb after sharpening a knife…and not being careful…). Sylvester is such a great name for a cat too. Agreeing with Carolyn that Brian looks a lot like you. I think Erin does too. You and Diane both look so happy!
I don’t do “Museum of Me” posts, but if I did this one would include a picture of me on top of a BIG boulder at the lake in Vermont we went to each year. I was very tall and self conscious about my height as a kid and in this picture that I remember, my legs hang down for so long! LOL
What an adorable picture! It really captures the carefree happiness of childhood and reflects you now…ready for whatever new adventure the day brings!
I think the best photos of childhood are definitely ones like this — you really get a sense of time and place and daily life. I can really see that you were an active child who spent a lot of time outdoors, and I’m not at all surprised (because that’s what you’re like as an adult, too!). The only thing that really surprises me is that you have a cat rather than a dog!
YES! That photo certainly captures that you of today – happy and friendly and, an animal lover, ready for adventure and fun!
Oh yes, the bandaid! I saw it before I saw you or the cat! I see the shorts sets and the “keds” (that what we wore) and you look so much like the kids in my neighborhood. I have a picture of me upside down on a tricky bar (our swing set). I like to think that could still be me today, but probably not. lol
What a great photo. I have a big stack to choose from but like you the one I’d choose would include my sister, comfy but not entirely flattering clothing, and a pony tail. Many of them were taken at my grandparents’ home because we spent a lot of happy hours with them. I was also happy at home but Gram was the one with the “Kodak” as she called it and always taking photos.
What a great photo! I love your description of it and how it relates to you now.
This was such a fun idea for an Exhibit – and I do think the photo you chose does show how much 7 year-old you became you today. (also, love the keds! … ubiquitous from my childhood, too … when I was wearing shoes 😉 )
That is a real smile! Very representative of the Kym today. 🙂