I ♥ Faces contest-Nostalgia

Wow, this challenge at I Heart Faces was hard. I LOVE nostalgic photo effects, but it seems like what they were really looking for was a photo that evoked nostalgic memories. I settled on this photo of Mimi. It is nostalgic to me for many reasons.

First, I have a picture of ME with my front teeth out, but the circumstances were some what different. Instead of being at the state fair, which is where the picture above is taken, I was in California for the first time in my life. We had driven from BUFFALO, NY to California to visit friends who had moved out there. It was my first ever trip to Disney (ironic since I later ended up working for Disney in FL for over 10 years). It is a vacation loaded with memories-polyester clothes, bell bottom pants, and going to school for the day with my friend who had moved out there. Boy! Times have changed!

Second, what kid doesn't covet candy apples. I remember what a treat something like that was. As a child, candy was a rare treat, not the readily available food staple it seems to be for kids these days. But I'd like to think that even now a candy apple is still a big deal. And it looks so red and tempting in this picture. The focus is on the apple, my daughter's a little soft focused. that's just what it was like for my daughter that day. The focus was on that apple. It took her probably 30 minutes to eat it, and she was wearing a fair amount of it on her face, but she enjoyed every minute.

Third, this picture was taken at our state fair. There's just something intrinsically nostalgic about fairs. Sure, today we have Disney, and Universal, and Six Flags, and the list goes on and on, but there is just something about a midway and funnel cake and candy apples and 4-H exhibits that can't be beat. My kids have grown up with Disney, Sea World, and Universal in their backyard, but they still love the fair, and we go every year.

Lastly, I can't believe it's been years since this photo was taken-it seems like only yesterday. Now my son is the age his sister was in this photo, but his front teeth are still hanging in there.