For one reason or another, several members of my family are cleaning out their attics/basements right now. Here at home, I'm trying to sort through boxes and boxes of high school and college stuff, mostly old notebooks, papers, photos, letters, things like that. My mindset is simple: I ask myself, "Do I want to move this to the new house?" and if so, "Where will I put it?" If I stumble on answering either of these questions, then I know it needs to go. Of course, it's not always that cut and dry. Occasionally I argue with myself about the need to purge so much. In those moments I think, 'Well, I don't know where I'll put this, but I'll figure that out later."
Last week, I got a call from my step-mom who is cleaning out the attic in my childhood home. Keep in mind that this is also the house in which my dad, my grandpa, and my great-grandpa have lived. Imagine the years of family stuff up there! Anyway, mixed in with all the other stuff, my step-mom came across the mother load of toys from my childhood. As I sorted through boxes of banged up dolls (years in the attic have not been kind to poor Barbie) and other miscellaneous items, I stumbled on a bright green tackle box that was filled with a bunch of Fisher Price peg people, animals, furniture, and accessories. I almost cried when I saw them. I can remember like it was yesterday, playing for hours and hours with those little people. My now 4-year-old Sam seemed immediately smitten with them and asked, "Mama, can I play with these?"
As Sam played with the little people, pets, & random furniture, the idea to photograph these old favorites popped into my head. Once I snapped a few pictures, I wondered about adding texture and color in the processing phase. How fun it was to play with my old toys this way. The end result? Love. I love these images so much that I think I want them framed in little groupings at the new house. Not at all sure where I'll hang them...but I'll figure that out later.
