It’s hard to believe that it is a new year again!  It’s time to start a new folder of images for 2012.  As I look back on my folders from previous years, I am amazed at just how many people I’ve met and photographed…how many people have allowed me into their lives to capture their memories, and in turn, have made their mark on my life as well.  It’s funny how looking at one photo, or holding one memento in your hand can bring back a flood of memories in vivid color.

Believe it or not, but I actually keep thank you notes that I have received.  I’m kind of sentimental that way.  I love stumbling upon them at a later time when I’m looking for something else…I take a moment to read them and remember that I did something really special for that person or couple or family…something that is going to last for generations.

One of my favorite clients, whom I now consider my friend, recently gave me this beautiful metal charm, handmade especially for me by an artist she found on Etsy.  “It’s just a little something,” she said lightly as we met for lunch at the Sugar Cafe.  As I opened the little box, I could actually feel my heart being touched.  Does that sound corny?  I don’t care; it’s the truth.  It was a little something to her, but it meant a lot to me.

What I love the most about the charm is that there are fingerprints ever so lightly embedded into the metal.  I suppose I could try to polish them out, but I don’t want to.  They are a reminder of the artist who made it…the uniqueness of the piece…the fingerprints that I leave on the lives of other people, and in turn, the indelible fingerprints they have left on mine.