So today’s tip comes from a weird mix of happy and sad. It is pretty simple though- take the picture. This afternoon, I had the pleasure of receiving one of a thousand eyerolls I have gotten over the years when pull out the camera. We went to celebrate Seningen’s birthday, and naturally, out came the camera.
I have become notorious for my camera work over the years. I like to capture the moments. This week I felt a renewed amount of determination in this endeavor. My uncle passed away this past weekend. As we prepare for the funeral, my family turned to me for picture as they often did. But, it seems that my uncle was as better at avoiding the camera than I was at catching him.
It was a hard thing to accept that I didn’t have the pictures I would hope, so this week I made a vow: capture the moments. Experience them as they happen. Then take a moment to capture it for the future. Fill the camera roll. Fill a scrapbook, a hope and cope chest, a picture frame. Surround yourself with them.
For me, I need a reminder from time to time that there are people who care. I need a picture to remind me that things get brighter. I don’t delete pictures. For better or worse, pictures are like a memory, they stay with me. Birthdays, weddings, parties, adventures, and holidays share space with pictures of storms, exes, loved ones lost. As I type this my phone has 19,027 pictures on it. 712 have made the favorites list.
Over the next 7 years and beyond, I imagine that I will keep that number growing. As I usually do, I will tie my thoughts back to some advice about adventures. Here it is: Be they Guy with the Camera. You will collect a lot of eye rolls, but you will also be the person who collects the memories people will need later. As for all my friends and family reading this: give up and get in the picture.
UnBEARable Adventures 
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