So… hello.

It’s been a while. I’m not going to make excuses or say that things have been busy and mildly insane lately. A lot has happened. And those of you I’ve kept in touch with know what those things are.

I thought I’d share a small facet of the aftermath of all that here though.

For Christmas my family found itself going through a lot of old family paraphernalia. A good portion of it was in photographs. My mother was notorious for taking pictures. Any time the family was together, she’d have the camera out. As kids (and adults) it generally became something we’d dread. My mother didn’t understand the concept of candid photos. Generally we’d have to pose or be gathered together for the big family portrait. Because Lord knows when we’d have such a photo opportunity again.

To her credit, though… there are a lot of photos and history that wouldn’t exist without her efforts. And she was damn good about notating the photos afterwards, so that a lot of the photos where we’d have no idea when or what was going on, there’d be a little note from Mom on the back.

After going through about a dozen boxes of family photos and history (I kid you not. A dozen boxes.), I have about a six inch stack of photos just of me. Most of them are scary. Very scary. But I figured I’d share a few choice ones here.

One of the few shots I have of me with my mother. There’s not many because she was usually the one holding the camera. This was taken when I was about a month old.

And here’s my Dad… who I still affectionately call Pappy. Not sure what I’m trying to stuff in his face here. Whatever it was I sure found it amusing. Just a little over a year old in this photo.

Ah the dazed, messy, satiated look. I’d like to say I was just a messy kid, but I’m still messy. Also taken when I was just over a year old.

I had to include this one for the shirt. I’ve had a long standing love for all things penguin, and this just takes the cake. Also, I had really blond hair as a child. You’ll see more evidence of that in the next couple of photos. Taken just before I turned two.

This was one of my grandmother’s favorite photos. She used to have it hanging right by her office desk. It’s still hard to believe it’s me. I just look way too cute. This was taken on my second birthday.

I love telling people that my favorite play toy and companion as a child was my ass. Here I have photographic proof. I miss that damn toy. Also taken on my second birthday.

Jump forward 11 years. Here’s (from left to right) me, my brother Pete, Matt, and Kerri. You can also make out my grandmother in the background… looking like she wants to be somewhere else. I apologize for the shirt I’m wearing. I had no sense of taste as a teenager, I assure you. I do love Pete’s snake skin boots, though.

This is how I spent most of my teenage years. Before I finally was able to get my hands on a computer full time, I spent a good chunk of my time reading. Voraciously. My love of epic fantasy and science fiction came out of the time spent reading as a teenager. I just wish I had the time to read like I once did. I’m 14 in this photo.

And finally a family Thanksgiving photo. My grandmother is sitting on the left, with me and my little brother Matt on the right. My grandmother is a fascinating lady, and I’ve been wanting to go see her for a while now… especially as her health and mental faculties have been going downhill lately. I remember her being a strong willed individual, and likely instilled in me my independence and sense of right and wrong more than my parents did. This is one of the few photos that’s not dated on the back, but by the looks of it I’m like 14 or 15 in this photo.

And that’s all for now. This is a sampling from just a small, small stack of the photos I have. I may post more if anyone is interested. It’s been a crazy holiday this year, with everything that’s happened… but I’ve had a sense of connectedness and family that I haven’t felt in a long time.

It’s been good.