I’ve heard it said before that “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.” But, is it really true? Does not having something make you know it more once it’s slipped through you fingers?
I think the key to this frequently used statement is that we do know what we have when we have it, but for some reason, we choose to ignore it’s importance or sentimental value until it has been stripped from our fingers.
Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, I would so often hear people say things like “Oh, we need to update our family photos sometime soon.” Or… “I should really schedule one of those cute princess sessions with Maddie while she’s still little.”
But, then… they never do. They never schedule that session and than weeks turn into months, months into year, and before we know it little Maddie is graduating from high school.
Where did all those family photos go? They simply didn’t happen. We knew the importance of preserving our family history with updated photos of the kids and family, but we chose business instead.
In the last 31 days, the state of Illinois has been under an executive order from the Governor to stay home. It effectively shut down local small business. Closed our schools. Caused lay offs to sky rocket, and brought us into a new reality.
Over the last 31 days, I’ve read social media comments and been on phone/video conversation where people are now changing their tune. They’ve spent the time at home looking through old photos with the kids. They’ve treasured being able to tell their children about the day mommy and daddy got married while looking the wedding photo album.
Now – the view on the importance of photography has changed. “I wish we had done that Christmas session last year.” “We never got around to doing Michael’s senior portrait session and now we probably never will.”
It isn’t that the Coronavirus made photography more important. It didn’t. It has ALWAYS been important.
But, Coronavirus did put us in a position to finally open our eyes to the importance of photography and see value in it.
So what do you think? Are you ready to update those family photos?
