What is the one thing you can do to show your love?
What could my son have done to show me more love? First, let me explain why I need that love now more than ever.
In 2017, after my son’s murder, I had Direct cremation done. This cremation type is a disposition option in which the body is cremated in the days immediately following the death, without a funeral service beforehand. Since I could not have a viewing, the funeral home suggested that I put a lovely portrait of my son in front of the church since there would not be any viewing.
I went through all of my son’s photos and realized that the majority of them were when he was under the age of ten. The newest picture I have of him is a selfie that he let me take when we were on vacation in 2015. His last professional photo has a stain on his shirt. I was lucky even to get the picture because I had to force him to cooperate.
He was a teenager, which made it hard to get him to allow me to take pictures of him. Also, he was a boy. Boys are even harder to get to cooperate when it comes to picture taking. My husband’s mom passed away in 2015, so I had the picture that I took of him dressed nicely at the funeral, but that was even older than the selfie.
What is the most important thing to do to show your love?
Make sure you let your loved ones take lots of pictures of you. You never know when you will take your last breath, and when you do, it will be too late for your loved ones to have something to remember you. Photos are priceless. I can’t stress this enough.
Videos are also the perfect way to remember our loved ones. When someone dies, you long to hear their voice one last time. Even though it makes you cry, it is so important. We all must grieve to process our emotions. It’s hard to do if you don’t have any pictures or videos to remember your loved ones who are no longer on this earth.
What is the one thing to do to show your love?
Take pictures and videos often are the number one thing to show someone that you love them. Children can surprise their parents for holidays or their birthdays by giving them a framed picture of themselves. Trust me; your parents will treasure it. I wish my son would have done this for me.
You can also take a family photo every holiday and update it yearly.
I have always been a firm believer in taking lots of photos. My boys were so used to me taking their pictures, they never even thought to complain about it.
That’s great, Sabrina.
We are getting better with taking photos of us together after trying to put together a photo album and realizing we had none!
Tiffany, I am so glad you realize the value. God bless.
I have been putting off having family photos taken with my husband and kids. This just inspired me to email the photographer and set the date. Thank you for writing this!
Ryan, you are welcome. You can’t go back in time. I’m glad you scheduled your photographer.
I try to get as many pictures as I can, but sometimes still feel it’s not enough. They are memories, and we should treasure them and want to photograph moments!
It is a special way to capture that one moment in time that passes all too quickly.
It sure is, Elaina.
I love taking pictures, and you’re right, my son is harder to get a picture of! I’m so glad you had these two pictures, even with a stain on his shirt ;), it’s a nice photo
You can see the anger in his face because I made him do it. I pretend he was posing like a model with a serious expression.
I have started taking more pictures of myself. I began to notice that I mainly had pictures of my family where I was not included. Thanks for sharing.
Sabrina that is definitely something we need to remember. Moms are the ones behind the camera a lot.
I have started taking more pictures with me in the photos (thanks to selfies!). Even though I may not like the way I look on that particular day, the pictures I take are not for me. Someday, my kids and future grandkids will want to pour over these photos (just like I enjoy doing now). They are not going to care about what my hair looked like…
You are 100% correct!
I love your dedication to helping others honor their lost loved ones. I am truly sorry for your loss but really love your spirit in helping others in the same shoes.
Thank you, Jason.
This is so true! I wish I had more photos of my brother but he too didn’t like having his pictures taken. And cameras weren’t as easily accessible as they are now. Thank you for this reminder 🙏💜
You are welcome, Keirsten. So sorry about your brother and your lack of photos.
What a beautiful soul. Pictures & simply showing gratitude are truly important. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your kind words, Whitney.
I have never thought about pics and videos as showing love. This is sweet. I’m so sorry about the painful loss of your son.
Thank you, Debbie.
No matter how much moaning and groaning there is, we take photos every first day of school, on birthdays, and on holidays. They truly are a way to show love!
I love that idea. I slacked on doing that, and I paid the price.
We took lots of pics and still do, as well as video. I need to get them all transferred so we can watch them again!
Also, remember to keep copies in more than one place, just in case.
He was a handsome boy, so sorry for your loss.
Thank you, Sandi.
I am so very sorry for the loss your family has suffered. Prayers!
I appreciate your prayers, Barbara.
I took your advice, and took some pictures of my kids. You never know what can happen.
Awesome Lisa.
So sorry for your loss. I take so many photos and I know I should go through and delete all of the ones where they aren’t looking for making silly faces and I just have to keep them all.
Kristin, may I suggest not doing that? I did that exact thing. I remember my husband took a picture of me and my late son hugging, and since you couldn’t see our faces, I deleted it. Now, I want it for a blog post, and it doesn’t exist. I’m so angry at myself.
So sorry for your loss, sending prayers to you & your family
My teenage son very rarely is alright with me taking his picture. He doesn’t want me to post them on social media, so I typically don’t. I wish he would let me take more pics of him.
So important to take those photos and videos! One of my kids, my oldest, doesn’t like her photo taken. I take them anyway just so I have them, not to share on social media.
I am so sorry for your lost. I’m going to take more photos of my kids!!! And grandkids.