June/July 2008
Making Memories For the past year and half I have taken well over 500 photos with my digital camera documenting every step of the way of my husband and me renovating our future home. When you’ve worked on a project for as long as this one has taken, it’s easy to forget some of the things you did when you first began. The photos, seen daily on my computer screensaver, have been a reminder of how far we’ve come and have encouraged us when we wondered if we would ever be finished. Last Thursday with no warning, my computer turned off and would not turn back on. Not too concerned, I scheduled an appointment with my computer technician. Carrying the tower out to his car Bryan called over his shoulder, “Keep your fingers crossed.” He was so cheerful; I felt all would be fine. But a few days later the call came telling me my hard drive had died. Everything was gone. As I hung up the phone I realized the last time I had copied my files to CDs was late 2005. Two years had vanished, just like that. I began to rationalize. The 23 chapters of a novel I had begun probably weren’t that good anyway. And losing close to 100 paintings wasn’t so bad since I always think my next painting will be my best. The writing and paintings really didn’t matter that much. Having a blank slate in the creative department was actually a little freeing. But losing our photos hurt. A picture is worth a thousand words and those photos had told our story. They had become our keepsake. And I dreaded telling Rob. He has been the driving force of our house renovation. The photos had been mainly of him. The next morning at breakfast, I didn’t have to say a word. He took one look at me and asked, “What’s wrong?” He’s intuitive that way. Or maybe, I was just an obvious wreck. “All our photos are gone.” Initially he was shocked. “How did that happen?” “My hard drive crashed, nothing could be recovered.” He touched his eye like it hurt. It was quiet around our table as the news sunk in. I knew I had made a huge blunder. Rob had told me several times over the past few months to back up the files. I had intended to, but kept getting busy with other things. He had every right to let me have it. But he didn’t. Instead he took my hand, “I know that must be hard on you.” The floodgates opened. “We still have the house,” he said, comforting me and helping put things in perspective. I started taking more photos that day (one shown below) making more memories but the most cherished keepsake I know I will always have from this whole episode is not once has Rob made me feel less than because of my mistake. While his response mattered to me, I’ve found humor in the responses of others. Some admitted, in private, that the same thing had happened to them and commiserated with me. Most used my misfortune as a timely reminder to back up their own files. And just a few, with external hard drives securely in place, clucked disapproval at my negligence. Moral to the story: Share your misfortunes. It builds community, it’s motivating to others and you may find out your husband is truly your best friend. |
| “No road is long when you are traveling with good company." |
Work In Progress
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