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Greatest Hits: Act 2

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At some point in my minimalist journey, I got to the point of minimizing photos. I would not recommend such a sentimental category for a novice minimalist. This is a group to save for towards the end of your decluttering journey. 

I decided to carefully curate an album of 200 photographs that I call my “Greatest Hits” album. These are my best and happiest memories from my life. At the time, my thinking was that if I am in a nursing home or some sort of care facility at the end of my life, I would enjoy having this one photo album of all my precious memories.

My Greatest Hits album has so far been an excellent idea. Sometimes it’s nice to look at when I am feeling down. I no longer worry about printing photos or deleting photos. I know I have the very best of my collection in my Greatest Hits album. 

Now, with the Act 2 in this title, I am in no way about to go all maximalist and start a second Greatest Hits photo album. I do not need an additional 200 photos (for a total of 400) to tell my life story. That is not what Act 2 means. 

When I curated the Greatest Hits album, I had bought my first house. After a history of childhood (and adult) homelessness, I never thought I would be a homeowner. Purchasing my first home was such a relief. I remember saying, “we will never be homeless again.” I felt settled. I had all this in mind when I curated my Greatest Hits album. I had thought that the best of my life was behind me. I was biding time.

I had no way of knowing what was in store for me with the daily neighbor harassment and abuse that caused us to flee that house and relocate to the opposite side of the state for safety. 

However, that is what happened. We sold the house in the Village of Horrors, and I bought a different house. Never in my life would I have ever thought I would be able to sell and house and purchase a new one. It’s honestly not an experience I ever want to go through again. Although, the entire move was exacerbated by our physical injuries and the threats from the neighbors. 

This is where my Act 2 comes in. I feel like we have a new lease on life. It’s a kind of awakening being in a brand-new place trying to find your footing. 

Sitting in our new house now that we are safe from neighbor abuse, I was looking at the Greatest Hits album and realized three things:

  1. Flower was not in the Greatest Hits album. Flower is a family member. There are five cats that I rescued from the dog fighting ring who were not in there. They needed to be remembered too.
  2. I did not want anything in the Greatest Hits album from the House of Horrors that I had to sell to get away from the abusive neighbors. That chapter of life was so traumatizing and evil. I don’t want any reminders.
  3. Life isn’t over. We still have Greatest Hits happening and things to come. I’m not stagnant anymore because I am no longer paralyzed by abuse. I’m no longer physically blocked from leaving my home and prevented from living my life. We still have another decade ahead of us.

Put together, all of this means I needed to curate my Greatest Hits album to include my Act 2. What this looks like:

  1. Previously, each cat (Kitty, Kip, Jude, Simon, and Jolene) had 20 photos each. Now, each cat has 16 photos each, and Flower is included. For the cats I rescued from the dog fighting ring, they have a little folder with photos of each of them. They are not in the Greatest Hits album, but their small folder is beside the Greatest Hits album. So yes, I guess I did expand beyond the 200 photos a little. 
  2. When I curated the photos, I looked for any photos taken in the House of Horrors and tried to replace it with a photo from somewhere else. I could not do that with all of them. Jude never made it to the new house. But I tried to make sure that there are only the very best photos of Jude, and the focus is obviously on him and not the fact he was in the House of Horrors (the same for Simon and Jolene).  I do have photos of Jude and Simon in the apartment before we moved into the House of Horrors that helped too.
  3. I had to add photos of Radar and the new house. We still have a lot of new things to see, so it’s possible the Greatest Hits album will need to be curated again sometime.

While I did not go all maximalist and add an entire second album of 200 photos, there is a small envelope of about 10 photos of the 5 cats I saved from the dog fighting ring that can be tucked into the Greatest Hits album. Four of the five were adopted into loving homes. One had to be euthanized from their injuries. They all need to be remembered. 

All this made me realize that the Greatest Hits album is not some stagnant thing. It’s a living documentary of the best times of our lives, and we are still adding to it. We may only have another decade together, but I am hoping for the sweetest decade to come. 

If you are interested, the photo on the cover of our Greatest Hits album is Fenway Park. Fenway Park is one of my two most favorite places in the entire country. I’ve always said that “Heaven looks like Fenway Park.” This is especially true when Fenway is at sunset. The view is downright stunning.

Of my six cats deceased and living, the first cat who passed away was Kip. Kip used to love to cuddle me when watching baseball. The last baseball we watched together before he passed was the 2013 World Series. It was the first time in 95 years that the Red Sox won a World Series at home. The prior World Series wins were done on the road. 

It was a magical time, and Kip was starting to go downhill when we watched it. I remember telling him that “Heaven looks like Fenway Park,” and I truly believe that it does for him. 

So, the cover photo of our Greatest Hits album is Fenway Park. When we are all done and our stories are over, that’s where we will be. 

It’s not over yet. We are still living and getting new photos for our Greatest Hits album. This is Act 2. 

80 Photographs

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There are literally thousands of photographs that I have taken and saved. Some are on cell phones, some are saved in my cloud account, and some are print only. The prints are mostly from the days when cameras had actual film and you had to wait a week for it to be developed. I have negatives for photos also.

I had quite a few photo albums and they took up a lot of space. In my minimizing, I purchased two photo storage cases that now hold all my physical photos. The two photo cases take up much less space than all of the photo albums. The photos are in their own case by category – person, event or trip. 

The photos I look at the most are the ones that are framed and actually in the house. These are the photos that hang on the walls or sit on the mantle. Sometimes I look at the photos on my phone.

I’ve had some up and down feelings lately in the pandemic. Part of me feels positive that I will live long enough to be in a care home. I think that if that were to happen, I want one photo album of my very best memories. It is easier to look at a physical photo album than it is to scroll through electronic photos. I looked at my photos a lot more when they were in the bulky albums.

Part of me feels negative and I don’t know how I am going to survive the pandemic. I just don’t see myself being alive 15 years from now when all the cats are gone. That part of me thinks that if I was in a hospital or (more likely) dying at home, the last thing I want to make sure I see is photos of my cats.

Even though I down-sized years ago and got rid of all the photo albums, I am realizing that the only way I actually look at photos is if they are in an album. 

I purchased a photo album that holds 80 photos. The album also gives space to write a note next to each photo. This aspect is important to me.

I have decided to go through the many thousands of photographs I have and curate them down into the 80 photographs that mean the most to me. I want a collection of the best memories of my life.

Starting with the photos that are actually in the house, I am realizing that I have had a pretty great life. I have had some amazing moments and memories. I have done great things. It is going to be very challenging to curate the best of my life into 80 photos.

At first, I started by making a formula. Given 80 photos, this is the formula I started with:

50 photos of the cats (5 cats – Kitty, Kip, Jude, Simon, Jolene), which means 10 photos of each cat, including photos of them in combinations i.e. Kitty & Kip, Kitty & Jude, Jude & Simon, etc.

10 photos of my camping trips

10 photos of my races – this one is a challenge with 18 medals and (hopefully) counting

10 photos of “other” – my once in a lifetime baseball game, trip to the MidWest, favorite photos not associated with the above categories

While this formula is a good start, I am quickly realizing that I have a lot more than 80 photos. I am either going to have to be ruthless curating, or find an album that holds 100? Photos instead.

The goal is that when the project is done, I will have one photo album of the cats and the highlights of my life. I want one place I can turn to in good times and bad times to relive the highlight reel of my life.

I guess the fact that I have so many good memories and photos from those memories is a good problem to have.

I am still going through photos, so I am not sure if I will take the curate ruthlessly or buy a larger photo album route. I do know that there will only be one photo album when I am done.

This project is turning out to be a lot bigger than I initially thought. It is also a lot more emotional that I thought. It is a good thing to relive positive memories in a challenging time. I have had a good life. It’s just kind of sad to think I may not survive the pandemic and that all the good times are behind me.

At this point, I am trying to remain positive. I am thoroughly enjoying going through my photo collection.

Has anyone else taken on a similar project for yourself or a loved one? Have you provided an older family member with memory issues with a photo album that is a highlight reel of their life? That is basically what I am trying to do for myself. 

Right now, I am trying to focus on 80 photographs. That may expand to be 100 or more. The limit will definitely be under 200. I probably should have figured out my photo count before purchasing a photo album. 

If you could only use so many photos to tell the story of your life and your best memories, how many would there be? 

My First Art Show

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With my photo on display at my first professional art show – The Regional Photography Exhibit sponsored by the Cultural Council

I have the honor and the privilege of having one of my photos chosen for the Regional Photography Show this year held by the local Cultural Council. It is my first professional art show. Never before have I even submitted my work for anything.

As you can see from the opening reception photo above, the work I submitted is the piece that has been the cover photo of this blog from day one. I have never used any stock photos on this site. All photos are my original photography.

Granted, in the past few years since my stroke, most photos have been of the cats or whatever is immediately around me. You have to go back in the archives to see more of my landscapes when I was physically able to travel around more to the beaches and parks. My disability has kept me grounded and closer to home more than is normal.

My work will be hanging in the public library all month, along with some other very stunning and brilliant work. It is very humbling to see whose company I share.

The opening reception was an amazing opportunity to connect with the other photographers and artists. It meant so much to me that some of my coworkers and other of my community friends were there for the reception. I think next to buying my house last month, that my first art show is the highlight of my year.

One of the questions that was asked of us right before the show was hung was if our work is for sale and the price. I did not respond with my work being for sale. I don’t take photos to make money. I take photos because I enjoy it. Then, I post them here with some ramblings about my life at the moment for everyone to enjoy. So my photo is just hanging in the library for everyone to enjoy and it’s not for sale.

When my photo was chosen for the exhibit, I had it professionally mounted and framed. It is so much better than the $10 Walmart frame I had it in. Once my work is done being in the show, it will return to the space it occupies in the hall between the bathroom and bedroom. Except when it returns, it will be in a much more professional form.

I deeply appreciate all of my readers and everyone who visits my blog. No offense, but having one of my photos in the public library for the month is a little bit more amazing. It’s hanging in the library where I live for people in my community to see. That’s kinda cool.

However, I never would have made it this far or even had the gumption to enter the contest if it hadn’t been for the past 3 years of this blog. Thanks for reading. Thanks for being there. I just keep going trying to rewind real slow.

Thanks for supporting my work by reading me. This art show is dedicated to everyone who has been following my journey showcasing my work on this blog.