You Should Always Take Photos of Your Loved Ones—Especially Your Grandparents
A series of viral tweets explains why.
By Jessica Leigh Mattern
For those of you that are camera shy or less than eager to snap photographs at family gatherings, you may want to reconsider your relationship with the camera—or else you may regret it one day. Don't believe us? Take it from someone who's been there.
Photographs are how we capture memories with those we cherish, but they're also one of the best ways to preserve your family's story, legacy, and love. In a series of tweets, morning show host Matt Gurney shared the inspiring reason he became obsessed with taking photographs of his grandparents. It all started when Matt's grandfather began his battle with Alzheimer's disease many years ago.
Quick tweet storm here, on a totally personally and kinda bleak topic. But you might find some small practical value in it. About a decade ago, as my grandfather began to fade toward his final days, I realized I had very few pictures of him.
It was a weird thing to get obsessive about, since he specifically asked for no service, but I began to think that if I wanted to put together a memorial slide show for him, I basically couldn't. I just didn't have the damn source material.
I made a point from then on of ALWAYS getting pictures of him, at every family event. And I decided to plan ahead, and make sure that everyone close to me got a picture in whenever we were together. I admit it's a bit grim, but you don't know when the last chance will be.
I suspect I'm kind of annoying at events, really. I'm not naturally a shutterbug, so I'm not the sort to be flicking to and fro with camera out. But now, I make that point. If you matter to me, and you're there, I'm getting a damn photo. And a good one!
At some point in the next few hours—and it'll be hours, not days—my grandmother is going to die. She's almost 88 and has been very, very ill these last few weeks. There isn't going to be a last-minute recovery. That's been clear for a while.
But guess what? I have a ton of photos and videos of her in much better health and at much happier moments, and some of them only date back to last month. I made a choice 10 years ago, and because of it, my kids will always remember her as she was only six weeks ago.
My only real regret was that I didn't get a few more, and I wasn't a bit more obnoxious about getting up close for really good ones. But overall, I'm really lucky and I'm glad. So that's my advice. Be annoying. Get the pictures. One of them will be your last.
Soon after Matt shared his story earlier this week, his tweets went viral and racked up thousands of likes and retweets. He then shared this sweet photo of his grandparents dating back to the early days of their relationship, which serves as the perfect example of what he explained. The image captures a beautiful memory, but also helps Matt tell their story.
We have a feeling that Matt's snap-happy ways will serve him and his future family. He will have reminders and keepsakes of his favorite relatives, but we bet his children, grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren will be delighted by the photographs too. So the next time you want to be cropped out of the photo, smile instead and remember "one of them will be your last."
Jessica Leigh Mattern Web Editor Jessica Leigh Mattern is a web editor and writer who covers home, holiday, DIY, crafts, travel, and more lifestyle topics.
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