Blastfromthepast Part I

On this sunny Sunday, the upcoming marriage of my youngest uncle and his need for childhood pictures brought about a mass resurrection of dusty photo albums from the abyss that is My Family's Garage.

Don't worry, we found plenty of him. The real gem, though, was finding pictures of my immediate family--mom, dad, little sister 1, little sister 2--dating from as far back as the 60's. I did a lot of laughing and awww-ing before my common sense came along and I started snapping pics of pics with my phone. And so I only have a few at the moment, but just you wait. The pictures of my dad in college are priceless.

We got me and my best friend Shannon, such 90's kids. I believe I'm actually wearing a denim jumpsuit. Or some kind of jumpsuit.


We got the quintessential autumn day picture.


We got me, Shannon and our other best friend Sierra. How did we all know each other so young? My mom's best friend from high school is Shannon's stepsister and my godmother, her sister Lisa is Sierra's mother, SO Sierra is Shannon's niece and I'm all god-related to everyone. Get that? Also, check out the vintage television.


We got my parents being all attractive holding me.


And finally, gem of the year, we got my mother literally being a model.


My parents kept the my-mom-is-a-model thing secret for a *long* time. While my mother is beautiful (and still looks like she does in that picture, over 20 years later), she exudes none of the vanity/insecurity/pretentiousness/etc that is often seen in models. My mom wears overalls and her only flaw (that I can see) is she gives and gives to everyone and doesn't take enough time for herself.

But of course one day I was looking for my confiscated Gameboy Color in my dad's underwear drawer and found a picture of my mom, not just modeling, but bikini modeling.

I will violate my parents' privacy no more, but the point is, ^THAT IS MY MOTHER. Jesus.

We looked through these albums for 3ish hours. We found naked baby pictures, naked adult pictures, pictures of weddings, births, magic shows, halloween costumes, and me as a toddler literally stuffing my face with food. We found pictures of our old apartment and our house when it had staples holding the floor together.

But the most mind-blowing thing of all was seeing my parents when they were my age, in college, hanging out and being ridiculous with their friends. Seeing my mom in her lace-and-leather night-out outfit and my dad chugging Jack Daniels and holding a baguette between his legs as if that would fool anyone. Seeing them cuddled together on a futon in bathrobes with what looked like full double shot glasses (their friends documented everything very well). It showed me a past I had only ever imagined, reinforced what I know in the present about the incredible love my parents have for each other, and gave me hope that my future could be just as bright. Because after all, I was raised by an amazing, loving family, and I am my parents' daughter.

I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful Sunday.

xoxo
Juliana