(Last Mod: 29 December 2013 15:07:41)
Growing up, my family was never in to taking a bunches of pictures and we couldn't afford school pictures most years. As a result, I have few pictures from my childhood and have never gotten in the habit of taking pictures as an adult, despite a deep desire to do so. I do have some cousins that were really into taking pictures of their kids while they grew up and when you go through those pics you really gain a sense (incomplete, to be sure) of what it was like for them as they were growing up. I imagine that they have spent many an enjoyable hour over the years going over those photos and reliving the moments captured - and even many of the moments not captured that the photos still managed to bring to mind.
I also suspect that a well-chronicled life leads one to maintain a firmer grasp on their past: who they were, where they've been, what they've been through, and how they got to where they are. In short, who they are and are not - though I'm not claiming that this is necessarily a good thing. ;-P
I really want that sense of grounding for our kids - and a website not only makes that possible, but it also offers things an old-fashioned photo album really can't, at least not easily. More than just a gallery of pictures, like a diary it offers a place to record events, thoughts, feelings, and experiences for later reminisces and reflections. I think (hope?) that doing so will enable them to better establish and maintain a strong sense of self.
But even if it doesn't - even if they see this as pointless and never view it - I want this for myself so that I can remember who they were, where they've been, what they've been through, how they got to where they are, and, maybe, even catch a glimpse of how they come to be the people that they will eventually become.
A final goal of this website is to let those that can't share our family's life directly, due to the large distances separating us, to be able to keep up to date and vicariously share that life in a meaningful way and in more-or-less real time.