Whenever I visit an historic home, I spend as much time looking out the windows as I do looking at the interiors. I also take photographs through the windows, often capturing the window frame in the picture. It’s not because I’m photographing the landscape. I’m trying to see from someone else’s perspective, someone who might have lived there long ago.
Why the Windows Matter
As I look out the window of an historic home, my mind fills with questions:
- What did that person see every morning?
- Were they watching their children play outside? Waiting for someone to come home?
- How did the changing seasons look outside that window?
- Was the view comforting, engaging, lonely, ordinary?
Those are the perspectives I want to imagine when I’m in an historical home.
History of Ordinary Moments
Historic homes often focus on famous events: a particular time in history, an event that took place nearby, the lifestyle of a group of people.
But most of life isn’t found on a page of a history book. Life is what happened every day for the people who lived in that place. Ordinary people like me. People I want to experience a connection with across the generations.
Someone stood by that window while dinner cooked. What did that dinner smell like? Who was cooking?
Someone looked out in concern, wondering if the crops would survive, if the weather would shift, how they would cope with whatever mother nature brought their way.
Someone gazed through that window, dreaming, praying, longing, grieving.
Someone simply enjoyed the beauty of a spring morning outside that window.
Those are the moments that don’t appear in history books, but they’re the moments that interest me, that I want to capture in my mind, through photos, and in words.
The Bridge to Our Own Lives
Future generations may wonder about the ordinary moments of our lives too:
- What did we see through the window as we drank our morning coffee?
- What neighborhood sounds filled the air?
- What was the view as we looked out the window in the afternoons?
- What did we dream about, worry about, pray about?
- What were some of the simple, ordinary routines of our daily life?
Those are the kinds of details we don’t think about too much as we live each day. But those are exactly the things future generations will wish they knew about us. That kind of ordinary detail creates a connection across generations. It helps us see each other as people living life.
Capturing Moments
Every time I look out a window in an historic home, I’m reminded that someone once stood in that exact place, looking out at daily life, wondering about the future. One day, someone may wonder those same things about us. We can’t preserve every moment of our lives, but we can leave enough tidbits for future generations to appreciate.
Before you move on with your day, take a moment to look out the window. What do you see? A yard, street, mountain, garden, mailbox, neighbor walking a dog? Listen to the sounds. Notice the weather. What are you feeling? What’s on your mind as you look out?
Take a moment to jot down some words that describe that ordinary moment as you look out the window. Save those words wherever you’re collecting memories for future generations. Someday, those words will give your descendants a treasured glimpse into your everyday life.
Exploring Generations 