Smiles Across the Years

We're in the process of cleaning out our garage, a mammoth job.  Some of the boxes out there have been untouched since I packed and sealed them when we left Philadelphia.  I figure that if I haven't needed the stuff inside them in 4 long years then I don't need the stuff at all.  In some cases, I was right but in some I was oh-so-wrong.

The most recent unearthed treasure is not mine but was my father's.  It's the double frame that he had on his desk at work where he spent way too many hours fighting for the poor and uneducated folks of our city who didn't have the energy, knowledge or means necessary to fight for themselves.  I like to imagine him sitting there, catching sight of the pictures and smiling as he imagined me studying hard at Scranton (ha!) or wondering if Jon had gotten any demerits at Dougherty that day. 

 

Here is the picture of Jon, his graduation portrait from CD.  I always hated this picture because he looks so dour, the complete opposite of his personality.  He said that the photographer told him not to smile.  What a time to start blindly following orders!  If I'd been home, I would have insisted on a retake but sadly, I was away at school back in the days of no internet.  Now I would surely have final photo approval which would be just an email away.  Amazing how the world has changed so in 19 years.

This picture was behind the first one.  That is much more like him withe the sunny smile and crazy hair.  Looks like Jack inherited his legacy in that regard, doesn't it?

Here is me in all of my young, hopeful, excited-to-be-hitting-another-milestone-on-the-road-to-graduation glory.  I thought I was so fat and hideous back then.  I'd like to go back in time and tell that girl to be nice to herself, limit the carbs in her future and enjoy herself in the present because there'd be rough waters ahead.  Maybe I wouldn't tell her that; why ruin her college glory days with dire warnings about the things to come?

School started at 7:50 and I lived 10 minutes away.  I used to set my alarm for 5:45 though so that I could shower and individually curl each strand of hair.  Ooooh, to have those wasted hours back and fill them with glorious sleep now!