Moving isn’t easy. You have to prepare your house, go through personal items and determine what you’re taking. My grandmother is preparing to move not only from St. Louis but also from her home she’s had the last forty years. That’s not an easy task.
“You never really leave the place you love. You take part of it with you and leave part of you there.”
Unknown
In 1980, my grandmother (fondly called Shorty) moved to her small house in Holly Hills. Growing up, I remember visits to her house, walking to Carondelet Park and enjoying the loads of crafts she had ready for us. Shorty’s was always the place where we could find gobs of candy, ice cream and soda, not just because she enjoyed spoiling her grandkids, but because she enjoys consuming these things as well.
“It’s time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I’d much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure.”
Ernie Harwell
As Shorty prepares for her move, my aunt contacted me asking if I would capture some moments of her around her house. I had already thought that captured moments before she says goodbye to her home would be special, so Shorty allowed me to get some photos of her in her home.
“There are far better things ahead than we ever leave behind.”
C. S. Lewis
I had a really enjoyable time capturing images of Shorty as we hung out in her front room and outside. While we were outside Shorty’s dear friend and neighbor allowed me to capture a few of them together, which I’m sure will be treasured mementos of her time in her small white house.
As I snapped photos, I learned she took modeling classes and was one of the maids of the Casa Loma Ballroom. Knowing her my whole life and yet learning more about her now made me appreciate her even more. She is often a stop on my jaunts into the city with my littles and is always finding more toys for the kids to play with during our visits. I will miss our time together and St. Louis just won’t be the same without Shorty.
Session Location: In-Home Session | Holly Hills, St. Louis
Session Date: March 11, 2020
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