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The pretty pink lady is my Grandma Marvel. She was the kindest person I ever knew. She didn't say one bad thing about my Grandpa except once... "He thinks he is so smart, but sometimes he isn't". All around the world, times have been very trying. It makes me wonder what she would have to say about all of this. I like to think she say "The world is filled with nice people, if you can't find one, be one".

Nothing better than the 1980s Halloween costumes. I don't know why they haven't been reissued. Of course I had the Princess costume in previous photos!

Wonder where this all started from? click here.  I was asked by a few folks if I sell these images. I just started up a Society6. Check it out if you might be interested in a print or two.

show me, don't tell me

Be all in or get out all out. There is no half way. My mom in a Easter basket in the 1940's in Minneapolis. She was an 1980's Tiger Mom. She was the kind of Mom that made kids' parents sign a legal form saying it wasn't her fault if they got hurt on our playground. She was also the same Mom that would come outside to that playground on a very hot summer day with popsicles. "Hey, you kids want a nice popsicle? Yes? Okay, well here's a bag... fill it up with weeds and then you can have one". Insert eye roll from offspring and the downward stare of shame.

"Kym, your mom is so weird"

Now that I am a mom, I think that weed trick was freaking brilliant. And the legal form, also a good plan. Her fashion sense was still a bit off, but no one is perfect. 

Be curious not judgmental. Easter with a really creepy bunny 1980's style. I still have that dress. I can't get anyone to fess up who made it. I love the knee high socks and black shoes.

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. Well this bunny is certainly more creepy than the previous bunny! I asked my Mom about this one. She can't remember when or where it happened. I told her it looks like outside a parking lot. Why did they let us sit with this bunny? He or she had to be a bit hot? Clearly I am okay with allowing my sister to get close but I won't have any of it.

Effort is attractive. I remember this day. We didn't have baskets for some reason, so my Grandma Marvel gave me her hair scarf and pulled out a plastic bag from her purse for my sister. Grandma always saved plastic bags. She would fold them up neatly, keeping a few in her purse and the rest in one kitchen drawer. They also had a paper cup filled with the rubber bands from the newspapers. Who reads a newspaper these days? I think the last time we had one delivered to our house was 2004.

You go and find who you really are, and do not let anyone stop you. It's me and my wild hair in the early 1980s. I am outside my Grandparents Towers Condo near Hennepin and 1st St South (Minneapolis, MN). You can see the Grain Belt Beer sign in the distance. That sign is still there.

 You must know what you want, to find what you want. My mom in the 1940's.

Death leaves a hurt no one can heal. Love leaves memories no one can steal.  12 years ago my Grandpa Bill passed away. He is the fella holding the baby (my Dad). My Grandma Winnie and Bill would bicker up a storm. I should have video taped them. They would have made some killer Vine clips. Grandpa Bill died a little over a month before my first child and his first Great-Grandchild was born. It's hard to believe that time has gone by this fast. I am grateful for the time I had with my Grandparents. They were a big part of my life and I still miss them very much.

Wonder where this all started from? click here.  I was asked by a few folks if I sell these images. I just started up a Society6. Check it out if you might be interested in a print or two.

show me, don't tell me

We travel, some us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls. My Grandma Marvel is the lady on the right with Barbara. Marvel never learned to drive a car. She was content to leave that chore to others.

Actually, I can. Oh Great Aunt Grace… forever doing exactly what she wanted to do. She hand painted this photograph decades ago. I am the keeper of most of the family photos. I wish I could have met her. I am certain we would have loved each others ideas.

 I don't want just words. If that's all you have for me, you'd best go. Grace again, this time in France during the 1930s.

 Do it right or don't do it at all. Check out those bright orange quilted coats. The kids would always ask my sister and I if we were going hunting in our orange coats. Nope, not going hunting. Our mom loves thrift shops and has no idea that Member's Only and Acid-washed denim are the 80's hot ticket item. Oh well....

Kind people are brave people. My Grandma Marvel is on the left. I just found out from my Mom this weekend, that the fella is John Beck (maybe Jon, not sure). John wanted to marry Grandma, but she passed. I wonder what this pie-eating evening was all about? Who took the photo?

Liking what you do is happiness. So I found nearly all the Easter Bunny photos in the ten or so boxes of photos that I have lurking in my uber messy office. There are literally bunny trails to navigate my office, so serious. The rest of the house is fine. You can tell in this photo that I am really not in the mood for this situation. I am wearing my ballet outfit, guessing practice is soon.

What I am looking for is not out there. It is in me. My Great Aunt Grace in WooSung, China (North of Shanghai) in the 1930's.

Wonder where this all started from? click here.  I was asked by a few folks if I sell these images. I just started up a Society6. Check it out if you might be interested in a print or two.

Show me, don't tell me

Beauty without expression is boring! My Great Aunt Grace at the Piscine Molitor pool, France 1938. I wish she had taken more photos of the pool. Maybe she did and I cannot find them. This suit would have been quite wild at the time. The first official bikini (a bit more revealing than this suit on Grace) made its debut in 1946.

 My Grandma Marvel in the 1940's. My Grandparents raised and trained Scottie dogs.

You are the music while the music lasts. My Grandpa Stanley and Grandma Marvel going out for a fancy night of celebrations. Look at that car!

If you are lucky enough to find a weirdo, never let them go. My Great Aunt Grace in Shanghai, 1938. She was quite the traveler, loved photography and made many of her own clothes.

You are far too smart to be the only thing standing in your way. Again, this is my Great Aunt Grace in Hongkew Park, Shanghai. The park is now called Lu Xun Park.

 Grace! Actually I can. She was a sassy-pants. She did what she wanted and never paused.

The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding. My Great Aunt Grace at Gare du Nord in Paris. It originally opened in 1864.

Wonder where this all started from? click here.  I was asked by a few folks if I sell these images. I just started up a Society6. Check it out if you might be interested in a print or two.

Show me don't tell me

 Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.

 If you are not too long  I will wait here for you all my life. My Great Aunt Grace in France in the 1930s.

 My Grandma Marvel such a beauty. Joy is the best makeup.

My Great Aunt Grace in the 1920's at Lake Minnetonka, MN. This lake has nearly 125 miles of shoreline. I find it to be a total puzzle to navigate.

Authenticity is not needing external approval to feel good about your actions. I love the sassiness of the girl on the right and the bold smile of my Great Aunt Grace on the left.

 It is a blessing or a lesson. My Great Aunt Grace in La Baule-Escoublac France in the 1930s. Clearly, this would be a blessing sort of situation.

Everything we hear is an opinion not a fact. Everything we see is perspective not truth. My Grandma Marvel with my mom in the 1940s.

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Keep me safe and I will keep you wild. My Great Aunt Grace is on the far left and Great Aunt Mae is on the right. This photo was taken in the 1920s yet has the vibe of a candid Instagram shot from today.

A passionate woman is worth the chaos. Again, the wild and free Great Aunt Grace causing a ruckus with the boys.

Life has no remote. Get up and change it!

One of the happiest moments in life is when you find the courage to let go of what you cannot change. This is my Great Aunt Grace. She was a wild card all her life.

It's not enough for a man to know how to ride, he must also know how to fall.

A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear.

Good parties create temporary youthfulness. My sister and I back in the early 1980s, partying during New Year's Eve. Fake Christmas tree, pink sweatsuit with thrift-store fancy PJs. Work it girls.

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Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion! I love the expression on my sister's face. I am the one with the crazy hair. Our dad always affectionately called us "brats". Even when I was older, living in my very own home and paying all my own bills... he would still call the house and ask "Is the brat around?" with a smirk (you could hear it in his voice).

My Grandma Winnie passed away this year. I didn't go home for the holidays. It was too hard to be there without her. So I stayed in Minnesota and pretended that she wasn't really gone. I know she is gone, I just can't deal with it. She was my last Grandparent and honestly the most entertaining one. I remember how much she loved to wrap gifts just to piss you off. She would wrap a super tiny gift inside a small box, inside another slightly bigger box, inside another bigger box, on and on. You get the idea. She would sit on her floral print couch, sipping her large glass of ice water while laughing at you. When it was her turn to open gifts she would allow all the kids put bows and ribbons on her face and on top of her head.

 

Christmas is a time when you get homesick even when you are home. This is so true. Holidays make me miss my younger years, when everything was truly magical. Sneaking downstairs before the sun is up to see the presents under the tree. Then romping back to your room before you were caught by the parental units. My sister and I would eat Christmas Eve dinner till our tummies hurt. Our Grandma Marvel made the best stuffing with roasted chestnuts. Then we would lollygag near the twinkling Christmas tree and listen to the adults chattering while they sipped Buttered Rum.

Now it is my turn to create the magic for my kids. I am cool with that. We are creating our own traditions with pom pom garland, toilet paper owl ornaments, frosted sugar cookies, cake pops, candy cane shaped pizzas and tiny gingerbread houses.

Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood. I love how happy we both look. You can see that my sister is doing her best to control herself for the photo. She really just wants to tear open that gift.

This photo is from the 1920's taken at the Lake of Isle in Minneapolis. My Grandmother Marvel is on the right. The ice-skater on the left is my Great-aunt Grace.

Be humble for you are made from the earth. Be noble for you are made of the stars. The fancy lady is my Great-aunt Pearl. She was a wild card. She ran away from home when she was around 18 years old, got married soon after and then moved to China.

Family is our link to the past and bridge to the future. This photo is from the 1950s. My mom and her cousin Larry. Larry is now the family history expert. I am doing my best to gather more photos and add to Larry's history documents.

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Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself. My mom always told us to be ourselves, do onto others as you'd have done to you, be kind to the underdog and work hard. I love this photo for the confidence in my Mother and the beauty of the composition.

What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. Not sure why my Grandma Marvel is holding my mom while chilling with a bear. But I love her sense of adventure. Life moves so fast, especially when you have kids. You have 940 Saturdays from the time your child is born until they are 18 years old. 260 Saturdays gone by the time your child is five years old. Use your time wisely.

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.

A lie can get half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. Drama, drama, drama. Do NOT save it for your mama. She doesn't want it and neither do you. Don't fool yourself lies, gossip, cliques and cold pricklies are not contained to junior high and middle school. They romp around for decades after. Not much you can do, but try to stay ahead of it or keep your head high.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything. My Grandfather is the little guy standing.

Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink the wild air. My Grandparents always had a sense of wonder and adventure. Lucky for my mom she was part of fun road trips as a small child. My sister and I got to go many places with our Grandparents: Oregon, Washington, Washington D.C., Florida, South Carolina, Hawaii, California, Trinidad, Tobago, the Cayman islands, Canada, Europe and even China. I am sure I missed a few other places. Bottom line, we had a sweet life with them. I am grateful every time I look through old photos.

 

Exist to be happy not to impress. Do your own thing. Do not worry what other people think, just make yourself happy.

 

You are not a mess. You are a feeling person in a messy world. I am a feeling person. I have been that way all my life. Even though I am 100% deaf in one year, I catch most everything around me. It's a blessing and a curse in the same. Some days I wish I could tune it all out. Life would be simpler.

I remember this day at the park. While we were walking to the playground we took a brown dirt path, green grass surrounded the path. I said to my mom "We are like the ants on a log. The green grass is the celery, the brown path is the peanut butter and we are the raisins... only we are walking raisins". I wonder what my Mom thought when she heard that. If she was like me as a parent she was thinking "When can I take a nap later today?".

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