Your Facebook Posts Just May Be Your Legacy

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, and that’s true.

True, because a picture tells us a story.

Scrolling through facebook yesterday, I saw hundreds of perfect holiday images… gorgeous families, gastronomic delights and meticulously decorated homes.

In fact, I posted a pic of a cookie tray that my daughter worked on for over a week. It’s spectacular and I was proud to post it.

I love seeing those pictures on social media – just like I love looking at pictures of my ancestors, decked out in their Sunday best, standing straight, looking stern and proud.

The photographs that represent our best moments are a part of our story and boo to the haters and trolls that call them fake.

They’re not.

They’re just not the whole story.

It’s the rest of the story that’s my favorite.
It’s the rest of the story that gets handed down from generation to generation.
It’s the rest of the story that we remember.

If you’d seen the picture of Lilah’s cookies on facebook, you’d probably have given it a “like” and forgotten about it.

But if I told you the story of how she, like my father and his father before him is a natural baker – one that doesn’t follow recipes, you’d remember a little something about her.

If I told you that, over the week that she made those cookies, our ENTIRE house – not just the kitchen, was covered in a film of flour and it took all Sunday morning for us to de-crust the knobs of every kitchen cabinet, you’d remember a bit more.

If I also included that she bakes because she was born with a sweet tooth so insistent that her father nicknamed her Aphid, you’d feel like you really knew something about her – a bit of her story.

It’s the story that you’ll remember.

I do love all of those old, black and white portraits and the history and pride they convey…

But my favorite picture of all time is one I found in my Grandmother’s attic after she died. There are no people in it at all.

It’s of a picnic table set in their backyard in 1953. Sitting on the table, nestled among the bowls of food, next to the utensils where the napkins might be, is a roll of toilet paper.

Classic Grammy.

As we head into this holiday season, don’t let the haters stop you from showing off what you’re most proud of, but let’s all do a better job of sharing the rest of the story too.

After all, it’s the challenging, awkward, and lumpy bits that make the shiny ones so special.