A Lifetime of Pictures

A camera sat perched on her desk. A thin layer of dust covered the lens, showing that it hadn't been touched in a few weeks at least. The strap hung off the edge, swinging slowly back and forth. It had been a gift from my old photography teacher, something that I had dreamed of having for the longest time. She'd told me it had been from her own personal collection from home, something that had meant a lot to her. It had laid unused in her dark room for the longest time before she gave it to me; I thought it was kind of ironic considering that's exactly how it laid now in my bedroom.

It was beautiful, a simple beginners camera but so much more then that. I had taken stacks of pictures upon pictures with it, many of which were strung around the length of my room with clothespins. Each one was like a small memory of a moment long ago, sometime when things were a lot simpler then they were now. My childhood, my adulthood, my lifetime in dusty still frames.

A tiny little wave from my past, sending waves of nostalgia throughout me. My mind wandered off when I looked at some of them; Look, that one, taken when I had first gotten the camera - of me in cap and gown with the person I would share my entire life with. I hadn't known it at that moment, but the curly haired, freckle faced ginger I clung to would soon become my husband, the father of my children. The love of my life. The one person I would give everything up for, everything we had built together, if he said the word.

And that one, right over there in the corner with the burn hole in the corner from when I'd given it to my then five year old to hold onto and she'd set it down near one of the burning candles in our living room...I can't quite recall what the picture was off now, the damage was too severe for it to be recognizable now.

Looking at all of them always brought me joy, remembering all of it made me glad of the life I had lived. Glad that it had spent it with someone as amazing as him. Turning around, I found him awake now in the bed we had shared for many years. Our eyes locked, and a smile crept onto my lips. "Alright, fine. I'll come back to bed. But only for a bit."

The same crooked smile reflected the one in our graduation picture, just as youthful as it had been back then.

Taking off my house coat, I crawled under the covers and curled up next to him. He put his arms around me, and I swear I've never felt more at home then I did in those twilight moments.