Reading Response: Life in Motion

The first story in the textbook Convergences, that really caught my eye is a story called Life in Motion written by Nicole Lamy. The story is all about the journey the author went on to take pictures of all the houses she had lived in while she was growing up; thirteen houses in twelve years! The purpose of her taking the pictures was to make an album for her mother so the two of them could look at it and remember old times together. The journey began when Nicole and her father went on a road trip to take pictures of the houses they lived in together - they started in Maine. There, Nicole tried to capture her first house from the view of a preschooler because that's the age she was when she lived in that home. While she was adjusting herself to get the right angle she reminisced about some of the things she did there with her parents. Nicole continues to explain each of the homes she lived in and how the surroundings of the houses, apartments, or duplex had changed (new skyscrapers, dead trees, different color paint on the house, ect.). Along with each old home visited, she had a little story that related to her living there. The author, Nicole, gives great detail about how she was feeling at the time of her stories and it almost feels as if you experienced the same thing. Nicole then continues and tells the reader that her parents had gotten a divorce when she was a younger; because of this she had to find some of the houses on her own (her father didn't exactly know where Nicole and her mother lived). After all was said and done: Nicole went from Maine, to New Hampshire to Massachusetts to capture moments of the past on her camera. When the album was complete and she handed it to her mother, the mother responded with a "Ha ha, all of my failures."

I'm glad I chose this story to read because it kept me interested, but also because there was an interesting twist in the end that made reading it seem more worth-while. First off, it would be very hard for me to relate to Nicole's story because I have lived in the same house for almost sixteen years now! All of the memories I have are from the house that I an currently living in. (I was too young when I moved to have memories from my old house). Also, I really liked how the author wrote the story; she numbered each new step/part of her life so it was easy to follow because there were 12 clearly separated parts rather than one very long story- very organized. When I read the end of this story I was kind of upset because I can't imagine how the author felt after hearing that reaction from her mother. The reason she wanted to make an album to begin with was to give it to her mother and I'm sure she was expecting a more excited response (or at least a great full response). The author did a great job talking about each house and her experience while she lived there; I would recommend students read this story (on page 291) because it could help bring back some of your old childhood memories!