There’s one particular photo of our family dog, Simon, that my brother, sister and I always remember from growing up.
The photo was taken around 1979 in January in our backyard in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Simon was in his glory playing gingerly in the newly fallen fluffy snow. The photo captures his furry beard laced with snow and his cute beady brown eyes staring into the Kodak Instamatic camera I had received that year for Christmas.
Years later, my brother, sister and I were reminiscing about Simon. We wanted to find THAT photo. We needed to find that photo. But could we find that photo? That’s a whole other story. We looked everywhere, finally giving up, without success, and went back to our busy lives.
My sister finally DID find it a couple of years ago – by accident – at the bottom of a box in our parents’ garage. It felt like Christmas morning all over again sharing that photo between iPhones.
It’s challenging, to say the least, keeping track of thousands of photos and home videos, whether they’re from the 1970s or last week.
But we’ll never forget the stories and the emotion behind each of them.
Sincerely Yours brings together photos and home videos in one place as a moving visual memoir. But perhaps the best part is that we get to hear the voice of our loved one recounting the story behind it – with laughter, reflection, a tear or two, or quiet joy.
In our case, our dad told the story of that winter day (all over again) in his Sincerely Yours visual memoir. But he also added something we didn’t know – that Simon was given to us by our neighbor, Mr. Pendergast, who was a museum curator, and who needed to move out of his house within two weeks for a last-minute job opportunity. He trusted our family to give Simon a good home.
Now, what does the story of Simon the dog have to do with 21st century technology?
Sincerely Yours has developed an application that allows one to share their visual memoir with family and friends – effortlessly, securely and privately – whenever and wherever they want. What’s a good story if it can’t be shared?
The Sincerely Yours App allows you to easily and securely view, share and download your autobiographical documentary, anytime, anywhere: smart phone, iPad, computer or smart TV. Encrypted and private, you have control with whom you share it. No more scrolling through inboxes to find a link, searching through hard drives or remembering passwords.
Who knows when or where you may want to visit dad’s memoir and hear his voice? In my experience creating visual memoirs for families, I hear from people that the inclination can arise when we least expect it. And that’s the moment to get cozy, turn off notifications, and listen and watch as our stories come to life.
Have a great rest of summer!
