Help! Old photos make me sad!

Ah, I feel your sadness, but I am also happy they are who they are now. Enjoy the good times. And yes, oh yes, some times when they are hurting now, I wish they were those little kids again.

 

I think once you get through the first couple of pages, you'll find that the emotions settle down a bit. It's so hard when they are teenagers to look back at their tiny cuteness and think about how sweet they were without wishing you could go back to those (presumably) simpler times! But, once you get into the swing of the task, it gets easier as it goes!!

Huggles!!
~Sarah~

 

Yes, I totally understand. I look thru some of my old photos when the kids were little and so many memories flood to the surface. It's ok to feel those emotions and I bet as you scrap with them, they will make you smile too!

 

I think I'm the only one who doesn't want that back. My oldest turns 32 today and she still lives at home and has except for 1.5 years that she lived with her BF and then another 4 months that she was married to him. I just want to be an empty nester! I don't think that is too much to ask for.

 

You are not alone I don't want to go back either. I do miss my older kids at home sometimes, but I love my adult children! Plus I still have an 11 year old at home. I feel like I've been raising kids forever!! By the time he is out of the house, I will be 60+ and I have to say that I do in many ways look forward to empty nest times. I have loved them at every stage, but having a grand baby around from time to time reminds me that I do not want to go back to having little ones all the time.

When I started scrapping in 2006, my older two were 15 and 11. I have so much of their younger days left to catch up on. It does make me a little nostalgic sometimes, but more often I just smile or laugh recalling some of our adventures when they were little. I think had I been scrapping their little photos when they were teens I might have been a little more emotional, just because the teen years are HARD!

 

So it's not the same thing but I feel that way when I look at photos of my ex-stepdaughters.

I'm still in contact with them via Facebook but I was only part of their lives for four short years. They are all now grown young women with lives of their own, and I'm so proud of who they've become but also so sad that I missed out on so much of their lives because of their biology & because their dad and I split up.

I scrapped most of their photos from before I met them & when I was with their dad but they're just sitting on my EHD. I'm contemplating printing albums for them for this upcoming Christmas & hoping that gives me some 'closure' as it were on that painful & bittersweet time of my life (and of theirs).

 

So, talk about it with her. At 32 it is absolutely time to not live with your parents anymore and both of you must be feeling this "I want my own life" kinda thing. Why doesn't she live on her own? Are there financial or other reasons for that?

I was 25 when I finally moved out (had lived elsewhere over time but always went back) and I was definitely READY. I had to wait for a rental in my price range to open up and that took about 1,5 years. I feel like I was way too old to live at home, especially after living elsewhere for two years prior (first in Rotterdam for an internship, then in Canada when I finished my education) but I just had to wait and slowly move up that list of rentals.

My cousin is also 32 right now and still living with his parents. I know my aunt and uncle really want to be empty nesters too, just like you. His reason to not move out is, he wants to buy a house and not rent. However, he cannot buy a house right now because he doesn't have the right contract work wise. Also it's ridiculous he doesn't want to rent, his parents have rented the house they live in for tens of years before they bought it. He's basically saying his parents did the wrong thing. It's also ridiculous because he has be working and earning money for years, so he definitely could afford to rent his own place. He just doesn't want to. Ugh.

 

As Jan has mentioned, you're not alone. My kids are still young, but looking at DD's baby photos makes me cry because it was a horrible time.
Long story short: I have no problem imagining my kids growing up and moving out. Photos of DD and DS as babies make my ovaries high-five each other in relief: "That horrible time is over! Now for the fun part!" Well, maybe not "fun," but "less sleep-deprived" part. Cuz who knew your Saturday could be double-booked for children's birthday parties?!
Maybe the issue is that parenting has become so intensive.
But this is a thread about missing babyhood. I do understand (even if I completely disagree lol). Babies, in all their drooling, blobby cuteness, represent all of the wonderful possibilities a human can have. And you can dress them how you want!

 

oh i so so get this. I am trying to make a book for each child...highlights of their lives from adoption to them flying the nest. It is supposed to be Christmas, and I blubber thru each page. I send it to my hubby and we cry together. lol then hug and talk about those fun times..and my hubs always ends it with...see we are good parents. bhahhaha

funny story to add. last night my almost 21 year old son and gorgeous pregnant bride were over helping us put together patio furniture. He was on the ground, and his shirt rode up...(now he is skinny) but seeing his pink back and underwear....I wanted to tickle him and pull his underwear! lol I told his wife, and we laughed...she did it for me...and funny thing, he looked at me and smiled. Don't have a picture to scrap, but a new memory to cherish.

 

No no no...I never want to change a diaper in my life again! or have those sleepless nights when I feel like I'm walking under water in the daytime. I like my adult children a lot! but the price is going through those teenage years. They can be tremendous fun but they can also be heart clenching times.

 

As much as I don't have the same feelings you have lol, I do think it's great that you're able to see those years in that light. Maybe in another decade (or 5 rotfl), then I'll be able to see it the same way.

 

Oh, @dawnmarch . My girls are 11 & 9. Also, I am technically their "step-mom" but there mom only sees them a couple times a year, so, I'm their mom. But it also means that I only really arrived on the scene when they were 2 & 4. I think that does change my perspective. I used to look forward to my kids getting older. I really wanted them to be able to read indepedently. I loved it when they were old enough to come home on their own after school. But, now that the oldest is turning 12 in a month, and will be starting high school in September, I am a mess. (Also, high school starting in Grade 7 is a new thing in our area. Which is also I think part of why I'm freaking out.) I see old photos in my FB feed, and want to yell, "where has the time gone!", "but they're just babies!!" So no, you are not weird. Thank you for talking about this, because it makes me feel less weird.
Also, as a pretty new scrapper. The way I'm dealing with these old photos, is #Throwback layouts. So, a photo from May 15, 2011 gets put in the spot for May 15 in the 2017 book, but with the #Throwback tag on it.

 

My oldest will turn 30 in a few months (how did that happen!!!?) and my youngest is turning 18 this month. I love being an almost empty nester!! The only time I get sad is when times goes by when I don't see or hear from them. Then I always ask myself 'don't I matter to them!!? My daughter is expecting her first baby so I will get to enjoy that!!!

 

I have moments when I scrap older photos that make me sad. But, I also look around the photos - the mess on the floor, the bottles, the sippy cups, the car seats, the diapers. And I think about how I loved the little years, and the memories. But I'm so glad I don't have to wipe anyone's butt at this point! Being able to scrap a photo lets me enjoy that moment, without having to do the messy stuff again.

Now, ask me again in a few years when I have a sullen teenager and my answer might be straight tears! But I hope I appreciate being able to go the bathroom by myself still.

 

Just yesterday while organizing photos, I stumbled across some OLD videos that my husband transferred from our camcorder TAPES to digital. It was when my boys were 2 and 4 at Christmas and then also my son's 3rd birthday. It was the sweetest thing ever to hear them talking with their cute baby voices, but I can totally see their personalities are the same then as they are now at 11 and 13. I'm not a crier usually, so I didn't get weepy, just smiled and smiled and couldn't tear myself away from watching. As someone else said, just be thankful you have all those older photos and enjoy them while you have them at home!