Mother’s Day will be a little different for us this year. Sadly, we lost Randy’s mom a little over a year ago. Fortunately we still have my mom with us, but recently had to make the very difficult decision to move her into an assisted living facility. It was heart wrenching for me because I knew how much she loved her home and enjoyed all of her things. It’s difficult to reduce a lifetime into one room and a bath. As I was trying to decide what she could keep and what had to go, I would ask her hoping for some direction. To my surprise, some of the things that I thought would matter most to her ended up not being that important at all. However, the things that were important were her pictures. One, a family portrait displaying the young mother with the baby on her lap surrounded by her other children. Another was a portrait of all of her children together when they were little. She made sure to tell me that she wanted her grandmother’s picture on the wall and then, of course, her mother’s. The close up of my father was to go right near some of the children’s photos. There is even one of her when she was 16. There are photos of our wedding and the grandchildren scattered about. But it’s these older photos of a life from long ago that seem to give her comfort now. The day I brought her to her room for the first time, she looked around, smiled and commented on the pictures and how happy she was to see them again. When she looks at them, it seems to take her back in time. When I think of all the things given to her or bought over the years, none of which she still has today, they were worthless compared to these photographs that she treasures.
So, this Mother’s Day when you’re trying to think of that special gift, you might remember that after thesSpa certificate has been used and the brunch has been eaten, a family photograph would be a gift that lasts a lifetime. That’s why FastFrame has partnered with Joie de Vivre Photographie to provide an inexpensive, framed family portrait that you can give mom for Mother’s Day. Joie de Vivre Photographie will be here at FastFrame on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to take your professional family portrait. A print will be provided and framed on the spot for you to take with you.
You may R.S.V.P. with Mike at Joie de Vivre Photographie at 661-600-8750, or with Randy & Rose-Marie at FASTFRAME at 661-291-1325. We’re located at 24204 Valencia Blvd in the Whole Foods Center next to Kohl’s.