Chapter 37: The Importance of Documenting Memories [+video]

In my opinion, you can never have too many pictures or videos. Why? Because we're humans, not elephants. You may ask, "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Face it. We don't have the best memory. There are so many special moments in your life that you remember so clearly shortly after it happens, but as the years pass, you may start to forget little bits & pieces of it. Yet, those little bits & pieces of a memory makes all the difference. I take so many pictures & videos, & I post so much on Facebook, Instagram, my blog, etc... so that I can remember. It's another reason I've been writing in a journal/diary [whatever you want to call it] since I was about 6 years old. I know that I won't be able to hold every single detail of every special memory as the years pass, but that doesn't mean that those memories have to be lost forever. I can't stress it enough... document everything. You'll thank yourself for it later & I'm sure others [including your loved ones now & future generations] will thank you for it as well.

I had to go through my photos/videos & delete stuff, because my iPhone kept notifying me that my storage was 'almost full'. While doing this, I found a video in my phone that I recorded the day I bought my wedding dress. It put a big smile on my face & had me crying happy tears to 'discover' this forgotten about video, so I posted it on my Instagram [@withlovedarlene]. Why did I get so emotional? Maybe it's because my wedding day was one of the happiest days of my life. Maybe it's because I'm on 'that time of the month', so my hormones are all over the place [TMI?]. Maybe it's because my husband is on another long underway & I miss him so much... Ok, it's probably ALL of the above.

Weekends are the hardest on me, because after a long week of work, all I want to do is enjoy my weekend by spending some quality time with that one special person who means the most to me. My husband. However, my husband is a sailor in the U.S. Navy, so I don't get to see him every night. This is where pictures & videos become even more important & special to me. To keep my heart happy [& keep myself sane] I often re-watch video clips from our wedding, home videos, look at our wedding photos, other photos of us, look through my many scrapbooks, etc... This is why my iPhone's storage is always on the verge of becoming 'full', because I don't like deleting anything. It's hard for me to do. This is also why I post so many pictures on my social networks. When I can't keep everything on my phone, at least I'm able to log onto my sites & use them as my own personal mobile scrapbook/photo album! :) It doesn't take up any space on my phone because it's all online. Winning! ;) Lol. So call me sappy, mushy, cheesy, or what have you! I know that doing all of this is what helps me get through the loneliness that comes with being a military wife.

Maybe you don't have the problem of missing loved ones because you're blessed to have them all in close proximity of you. Therefore, you don't take that many pictures or videos since you see them all the time. Am I right? Be careful with thinking in this mindset, because this can be your downfall. How? Well, we never know how long we have here on Earth. God forbid you don't wake up tomorrow... What then? Your family would be sad if they didn't have many pictures of you because perhaps you always shy away from the camera. Or God forbid a loved one passes away, leaving you wishing that you took more pictures with them or got them on video... Unfortunately, these are the sort of tragic events that happen before people wake up & realize just how short life is. Don't just live life to the fullest. DOCUMENT it. Have proof of it. Freeze the memory in a photo. Capture it in video. Once again... you'll be happy you did. You'll thank yourself for it later ♥

So go LIVE.

Go ENJOY.

&& make sure you document it all...

Here's a really cute article about just how good a elephant's memory is :)
http://www.elefantasia.org/spip.php?breve165