Shutter Sisters

Memories of Love

By

 

I lost my grandma Lucy one week after Mother’s Day.  It wasn’t unexpected and we knew the end was imminent, but that didn’t make it any easier.  I’m glad that my son’s have many memories of her and I don’t want them to ever forget her.  More importantly, I’m glad that I made a point during the last couple of years to photograph Lucy as much as I could as well as documenting her last few months for our family.

My youngest son and Lucy had a special relationship.  He was her ‘baby boy’.  When she was at her crabbiest he would sing for her and make silly jokes, getting a giggle and smile out of her when no one else could.  When she was dying I told him he didn’t have to go to the hospital to see her because I knew how difficult it was, but he insisted.  I’m doing it for her, he would say, tears in his eyes, she needs me.

I had been trying to come up with ways to somehow use my photos of Lucy as sort of a memorial to her when the opportunity came to get a canvas print from Hello Canvas. I knew immediately what I was going to do.  I showed my son all the pictures I had taken of Lucy over the past couple of years and told him to pick his favorite one to be used.  When our package arrived only 5 days later, we couldn’t wait to open it.  I don’t know who was more excited about it, me or my son!  Once it was opened, we propped the canvas up and stood back and looked at it in awe.  It immediately brought tears to my eyes.  Mama, my son said excitedly, MeeMaw would be so happy!  Not only would Lucy be happy, my son is happy and that is everything.  Thank you, Hello Canvas, for your help in keeping the memory of Lucy alive, just as it should be.

What about you? Do you do anything special with your photos to remember those that are no longer with us? Please share with us your ideas or show us in a photo what you have done.  We’d love to see your memories of love, too. 

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Hello Giveaway! It’s random giveaway time again from our friends at Hello Canvas. YAY!

Leave a comment here between now and Thursday at midnight and you could win a 20X24 canvas of your photo of choice from Hello Canvas!  Hello, indeed!

EDITED TO ADD:

Thank you all so much for the response on this post! Hello Canvas was so touched by this conversation of Love that they are now offering 40% off all orders when you use our promo code HELLOSISTERS! HELLO!

And thank you sisters, for sharing your beautiful, sweet, warm comments with us.  You have truly touched me. 

Comments

  1. What a beautiful way to remember a special person in your life and how wonderful your sons had the opportunity to know her.

  2. Oh wow, this is beautiful. Can’t wait to have a canvas printed. I wish I would’ve had something like this made of my grandmother before she passed away. I really just create albums, but displaying photos is such an awesome idea.

  5. This is AWESOME! I lost my Mom to cancer when she was just 56. My girls were very little but do have some memories of her. What a tribute this is for your grandmother and a memory for your son.

  6. What a beautiful picture! And what a memory to have. I’m sorry for your loss.

  7. I am so so so fortunate to not have lost anyone close to me since I was a teenager. Unfortunately then I was not big into photography and I have no photos of my grandparents here with my. My parents have a few, but I have none.

    My husband’s grandmother died very suddenly a couple years ago and she was almost like my own grandmother. It was so unexpected I never really got the chance to take any photos of her. She was also the person who was always behind the camera taking photos of everyone else. So now my husband’s family has very few photos of any family event. That makes me sad.

    So snap them when you can. Anything and everything may be a special moment fifty years from now and you’ll be glad you had those ridiculous photos of you and your siblings in your bathing suits.

    http://www.cabinfeververmont.com

    http://www.nekphotography.blogspot.com

  8. Wow what a way to make a fantastic memory. That canvas print is beautifully done. You picked the perfect picture. I’ve been wanting one of these for such a long time. Isn’t it amazing the things they keep coming up with that help us hold time in place and keep out memories close and in full view and not just in our hearts and minds.

  18. I loved this post! I lost my grandmother (Lucille) four years ago. My biggest regret is not taking more photos of her. I love this and I think I need to have a big print made of one of my favorite photos of her. Thanks for this post.

  19. Oh — and something I do to remember those we have lost — every Friday I post an old family photo on my blog. My cousins and other family members get to see it again that way and we all share our memories.

  21. What a beautiful story. How incredible for your children to have had time to form those memories and relationship.

  22. Thanks for sharing that. Kids and Grandparents share such a wonderful bond. I definately want to look into getting at least one of these canvas’.

  25. Beautiful portrait!! Grands are so special! My grandmother went home 4 years ago, and I have lots of photo’s of her in frames in various parts of my home, hadn’t thought of making an enlargement….thanks for sharing…….

  26. Love this canvas, but more importantly, the story and your sons relationship with your grandmother. My grandmother is 88 and has a close relationship with my 3 sons. The past months have been rough for her after a fall and it is the first time in my life with her that I truly feel like she is "old" and time may be limited. My boys feel the same way and I, too, have documented the past few years of many photos of her. What a tribute to your grandmother and the way it made your son feel to get the canvas in the mail.

  27. …I just have to say..that is just beautiful…I am in tears…what a sweet soul he has! What a wonderful story hon…thank you for reminding me what was important today…love!!

  28. How special you must feel to be able to give life to so many memories your son and family have of her. My grandmother will soon be 88 and I’m constantly shoving a camera in front of her face. I know it’s going to be beyond difficult for me to say goodbye to her when that dreadful day comes. This post made me realize how important my photographs will be. Can’t wait to order a canvas of her soon! She won’t understand why I want a blown-up photo of all her beauty ‘with all those wrinkles’ but she will love it, as will the rest of the family! Thanks for the great post and the wonderful idea!

  29. Lovely post and photo, thank you for sharing with us.

    A very close friend of mine passed away last month ago after a tragic accident, and you’ve inspired me to go and dig through my big box of old photos to find some good memories of fun times with him.

  32. We have a wall in our living room dedicated to our family tree. It’s full of photos of our ancestors as far back as we can find them. They are all labeled so our children grow up learning about our family’s past. We LOVE it!

  35. I am sorry for your loss. What a great way to honor your grandma. I just purchased two canvases from Hello Canvas for my husband for father’s day. They are absolutely beautiful and were quite a hit with my family–so much so that we all would love our own canvas!

  36. I think it’s sweet you encouraged your son to help you with your project. Looking at pictures, talking about memories, it can make healing a heart more comforting.

  37. This is a beautiful post and a beautiful picture (both of them).

    I lost my father to cancer 6 years ago and never had the chance to properly say goodbye. I had already immigrated to the United States and only saw him once before the illness took him. Even then, he was… different. I missed the gradual transition, as painful as it is to everyone involved. I saw him when I could only barely recognize him anymore and the shock got the best of me. I didn’t know how to say goodbye. And when he finally passed I wasn’t there, and due to a snow storm, couldn’t even make it in time for his funeral (they happen within 24 hrs from death where I am from).

    In any case, I’ve always wanted to go back and get whatever pictures I could of my dad – performing public speeches, in his businessman persona; playing his guitar and singing; playing futbol; at the beach or bbqing with the family. He was such an amazing and multifaceted person and I want to create a collage that reflects that. Then I’ll give it to my mom. I know she misses him (they were together from the time she was 15 y/o).

    Thank you so much for sharing your story and reminding me of mine. I need to get this project on top of my priority list.

  38. to live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die – thomas campbell….
    what a beautiful tribute to a beautiful woman….
    my prayers are with you…..

  39. lovely canvas… lovely giveaway… my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family!

  40. Beautiful images (both the photo of your grandmother and the photo of your son with the canvas) and post. My condolences to you.

  42. So beautiful. What a gift to have captured her so wonderfully. My grandmother is 95 and going strong but we know she won’t be here forever. She doesn’t like to be photographed but I’ve been trying to sneak shots of her here and there, especially with my son. I know I will be grateful someday.

    Thank you for sharing!

  43. wow, i just finished looking at your photos. they are lovely and bittersweet. It’s so hard to say goodbye to someone so steady in our lives, yet your photos will always bring you comfort.

  46. i am so sorry for your loss. losing a mother is one of the hardest things in life.

    i had photographs of my mom and my dad for years on my fridge after they passed. nothing fancy, but i got to see them both every day, many times a day, and it always warmed my heart (after the initial sadness).

    my fridge doors are bare now except for one thing … a little torn page of a magazine i’ve had for years which says "another day, another chance to feel healthy" …

  47. I have a great photo of my kids with my grandmother. I’m going to have it printed and hang it on the way – I’m not quite sure why I haven’t done it before this. Thank you.

  48. This reminds me so much of my Mom with my oldest. He was her "baby boy", and she was his "Lala". Not grandma or Nana or Abuelita…her name was Rafaela and he loved saying her name but could only say Lala. After she passed away of Cancer I printed one of his favorite pictures of her where he keeps it right by his bed.
    What a beautiful story…and like so many it brought tears to my eyes, but because I saw my own son in that story.
    Thank you for sharing.

  49. Beautiful photo and wonderful story. My son has a similar relationship with my Grama. 🙂 It’s a very special thing.

  51. What an amazing picture. I lost my grandmother, my best friend, a few years ago and unfortunately do not have any recent photos of her. We did, however, find a picture from the 30’s of her in her restaurant with my Grandfather. My dad had the photo blown up to a 20X? size and framed for all of us kids. It hangs proudly and prominately in my house. I smile whenever I pass by it. My thoughts are with you and your beautiful family!

  53. What a beautiful photograph – it captures the spirit of MeeMaw. There are so many nice ones that will enable your kids to remember her always.

  54. That is a lovely canvas and story, too! I would get a canvas of a self-portrait I took with my mother last year. We just celebrated the one-year anniversary of her adopting me (yes, adult adoptions do exist. crazy!).

  56. My sons make fun of me for always having my camera. But its a post like this that encourages me to keep it close by. The photo of your son holding the canvas is as beatiful as is the photo of his Grandma.

  59. I’m originally from Destin, but don’t live there anymore. I went to visit the first week of June and took pics of my kids on the beach. I’m so glad I did because the oil made it to their beautiful beaches the week after we left. I know that I will cherish these images for years to come, and I’d love to have a canvas print of one of those pics.

  62. Because my brother passed away years before my children were born, they will only ever know "Uncle Bryan" through photos. I ordered a photo book of photos of my brother from childhood up to his death, age 25, using on each page, the question "Where is Uncle Bryan?" and answering with a rhyming couplet that captioned the photo. On the final page, a photo of him flying in his military aircraft in which he perished, I answered the question, "Where is Uncle Bryan?" by saying that on his final flight God called him home to heaven.

  63. Praying for you and your family during this time of loss. What a heartwarming story. Thanks for introducing me to Hello Canvas . . . thinking of which photo(s) I’d like to order.

  64. What a beautiful picture. And I love the picture of your son with the picture. Such a special bond between gramma’s and grandson’s. His memories of her are priceless.

  67. this is just so touching, brought tears to my eyes reading and seeing the love in your post… i have no photographs of my maternal grandparents, so i have no visual representation to show my children, but i am creating a scrapbook of memories that i hold on to so dearly, trying to vividly describe smells and sounds and recapturing places when an opportunity arrives. it is my hope although we have no visual images, that when my children grow and close their eyes they are reminded of the stories that we will share of my granny and grandad…

  69. You inspired me-even if I don’t win-I’m ordering one I have of my gram with my daughter-they are sharing my gram’s pearl necklace when she was just a baby-I miss her and having that picture around would make me smile-especially if it’s big in my daugther’s room!

  71. Such a beautiful tribute/rememberance of someone special. Thank you for sharing. It makes me sad all over again that my special grandmother didn’t get the chance to know her great grandchildren. She unexpectedly passed away when all three of us (myself, my sister and my sister-in-law) were pregnant with our first children.

  72. Beautiful post once again. What a wonderful way to celebrate Lucy’s life and celebrate you and your son’s love for her as well. Just love your website.

  73. What a beautiful tribute. I looked through your set with tear filled eyes wishing I had had the foresight to photograph my Dad more when he was dying 6 yrs ago. I hadn’t renewed my love with photography yet, I did at least get a couple of videos of him. It’s still hard to watch them. I keep snap shot type photos around to remember him daily, but a canvas would be spectacular!
    What a beautiful, beautiful way to remember her.

  74. I love that these are becoming reasonably priced now, what a great way to preserve memories.

  75. What a beautiful portrait! It makes me want to take pictures of my family all the time, every day, every chance I get!

  78. My grandmother just celebrated her 95th birthday. I missed the party because I live 7,500 miles away. I wish I had been there with my camera!

  79. Beautiful post and so sorry for your loss. Love that you had your son pick the photo you would use. He did a fantastic job and the canvas is beautiful:)

  81. What a special young man and what a lovely picture of your grandmother. I need to get one of these of my dad.

  83. Lovely post. My grandmother is going to be 86 this year and still swims every morning at her local pool. I am so grateful that my children are getting the chance to get to know her.

  84. ive found this site recently and have been really enjoying it a lot. my son and his grandma have a very special relationship. hell, sometimes i think i should probably get mad or offended, he just loves her so much, jumps out of my arms when we get to her house, and cries and cries and cries when we leave. however, i understand how short lived this period in their lives is. she is 70+, he is 16 mo…. the sad truth is there is no way of telling how short their relationship will be, but i hope their special bond will be everlasting…

  91. Such a beautiful story… and image! Sounds like you have a son with a wise soul, to be so connected already. Thanks for sharing it here!
    jag xox

  93. They say a picture is worth a thousands words…I say you hit right on the mark. Congratulations on documenting such a wonderful piece of memory for your son(s)!

  94. What a touching post!!! The photo is just gorgeous and one to be cherished forever!

  96. This is wonderful, I would love to do something like this for my fiance, he lost his grandmother a couple years ago to lung cancer and continually talks about all the things they did together, I know he misses her very much.

  98. You know, I haven’t done anything special to honor the memory of someone but I feel very inspired hearing your story. So sweet. Thank you.

  101. beautiful capture on canvas. now your son will always know where to look when he misses his meemaw. =)

  103. This post brought tears to my eyes… A beautiful photo, a beautiful son, a beautiful tribute.

  104. I have an old distressed white window (it has 2 window panes across & 4 down) that came from my grandfather’s house. I enlarged black & white photos of my great-grandmother, my grandmother & my mother in their bathing suits at the beach…and also photos of my great-grandfather fishing at the beach. I matted them with a navy mat and placed the photos behind the window panes. I really loved the way it turned out!

  105. You son is so lucky to have known your Grandma. What a beautiful picture and a great giveaway.

  107. What a beautiful story.
    I lost my best friends twelve years ago.
    His sister made me a binder with many pictures of him, from his childhood to his last period, and gave it to me as a gift. I love that binder, I sometimes go through it and emotions keep changing, but it never fails to touch me deeply.
    (I would have to go get a picture of the binder.)
    I also have a big photo of him, almost natural size, that I used to have on my wall.
    Here’s a memory of him, and some pictures as well:
    http://juliealvarez.blogspot.com/2008/09/girasoles-para-dirk-sunflowers-for-dirk.html

  108. So beautiful !The story and pictures brought tears to my eyes.I’m sorry for your loss.This is such a special way to honor your Grandma! Thanks for sharing!

  109. What a beautiful canvas, in so many ways. I have several snapshots of my sisters and I as kids with my grandparents who have both now passed, just displayed in simple frames in my home.

    Blessings to you and your family as you heal from your loss and continue to celebrate a wonderful life lived.

    Brittany

  111. I really love this idea! I have some photographs of my grandparents and think this would be a great idea for their pictures!
    Awesome! Thanks for sharing!!

  112. I love the thoughtful, intimate quality of the photo within the photo and the way your son is connecting with his great-grandmother.
    Thank you…

  113. I am so happy I happened upon this site….AND to see the link included for Hello Canvas website. It sounds like something I would enjoy so much….. Thanks again. I will be stopping by often.
    Brenda

  114. That is a beautiful canvas. I have a special photo that I haven’t quite decided what to do with it. I’m not sure if I should have it printed on a canvas or perhaps add it to a collection of photos of my grandmother.

    This photo I recently shared on my blog was taken just a few months before my grandmother passed away. Mother’s Day 1994 I gathered 4 generations together before we went out to celebrate. My grandmother, my mom, me and my daughter who was barely a year old. It was extremely difficult for me to deal with because I had just lost my husband a year and 10 days before.

    http://www.pkphotographyblog.us/2010/06/top-5-ideas-for-capturing-fathers-day/

  115. beautiful story, and awesome canvas. your son sounds like a lovely boy 🙂

  117. what a touching story, thank you so much for sharing.. the canvas you received truly looks stunning, i’m sure it’ll be treasured for a very long time. ~angie

  118. This is just simply beautiful. I have been trying to capture pictures of my boys with their grandparents. We have not lost anyone extremely close to us yet. Now is the time to just take the time to capture the memories that pass away so quickly.

  119. i know this is late but i just wanted to say how beautiful this is! i too lost my mawmaw the week before mother’s day this year….i was one of 29 grandchildren and my son was one of 24 great-grandchildren….she loved us all so much and we all loved her and all have our own special memories of her. she raised 10 children and was still "sane" at age 86!!! she was silly and it was hard to get a serious picture of her – i know exactly where all of her children get their sense of humor – you can’t get a serious picture of any of them either!

  121. What an awesome memorial to your grandmother. And, even more awesome for your child to witness such love. The canvas is lovely.

  122. The canvas is beautiful and so is the picture of your son holding it. It brought tears to my eyes as I read the blog behind the canvas of Lucy. My grandmother died two years ago of cancer. My son not only helped his great grandma through the difficult times by making her smile, but he also helped me as my grandmother and I were so close (oh no the tears are dropping). I think, I’ll stop here, but this is a beautiful memory and I will look into doing the same. Thanks for sharing!
    http://justustoo.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

  123. Hi Chris, I wanted to simply say this is a tender treasure…your photo of her, your photo of your son with the canvas, the photographic journal of Grandma Lucy. Beautiful. {hug}

  124. My grandmother died a year ago (a few days before mother’s day) and we too were incredibly close. I was actually with her when she passed, praying for her and holding her hand. I am still torn between being sad that I was the one there, and being greatful I was the one there.

    Beautiful picture of her. It’s such a great way to sit back and remember and that will mean so much to you and your son over the next few years, especially.

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