I finished! I finally hit the “publish” button at 1:11pm on May 31st.

No – not on my long-promised memoir, but on a photo book I promised to create for my 99+ year old Aunt Lil after my recent visit in April.

It was a logical and reasonable plan. Rather than send her a batch of 4×6 prints, I’d simply put the best of those images into a hard-cover photo book and send it off to her.

Aunt Lil was my favorite. She, too, was the only girl in a family of boys. At least I only had to contend with three of them. She had five brothers! My Dad was the baby of the family, and she was the next-youngest. Our families were always very close, despite the fact that the Davis’ lived all the way down in Lansing – a 90-minute drive from where we lived in Saginaw. She was also the only one of my aunts who had a job outside the home after having kids. She worked as a secretary at the Cancer Society in Lansing. I truly believe this kept her young and vital and interesting.

Less than two years ago Aunt Lil moved out of her little duplex in Mesa into Bella Vista Senior Living. Not their “assisted” living facility, but the independent wing, where she has a very nice apartment. We had lunch together in the dining room, where the walkers and electric wheelchairs were scattered helter-skelter at the entrance, and where my honey-glazed chicken entree was quite tasty. Her mind is keen and sharp – and she’s healthier and more vibrant than most of the people I saw that afternoon. She plays bridge twice a week, although it’s harder for her to see the cards – even the big-print cards. She sometimes does “yogo” (as she calls it) and plays bingo. She’s an amazing lady – and I want to be just like her when I grow up!

Me and my beautiful, vibrant Aunt Lil!

I also spent time with my brothers, Jim and Bob, and my sister-in-law, Kathy, who were visiting Arizona from Michigan – plus cousin Karen who lives in Scottsdale. Karen told me that my aunt still looks at cards she received when we celebrated her 95th birthday, so I knew she would treasure having pictures from our weekend in a large-bound format.

But then I remembered that we’d had a Murphy reunion last year for St. Patrick’s Day, so of course, I should include those images.

Well . . . you know how these things go. Before I knew it, I was rummaging through shoe boxes filled with prints from the first official reunion (1993), scanning those images, cropping, adjusting, downloading, uploading, futzing. Then, looking through hard drives on which I’ve saved photos from more recent digital-era reunions – again cropping, editing, uploading, downloading, futzing, futzing. Always futzing.

I’m a perfectionist. A blessing and a curse.

My preferred photo book program (and there are many from which to choose) is called Mixbook. After perusing all the themes, I start with a blank book, choosing background images, header fonts, colors, stickers and laying out photos to fit each page. It takes me hours – and hours – and hours.

I spent the better part of a beautiful Memorial Day weekend steeped in Murphy memories. The time-consuming process is so fulfilling … to see images of little nieces and nephews who are now all grown up with little ones of their own. Recalling memories of the reunion in St. Louis with the water guns. And the marshmallow-eating contest in 1995 at Immerman Park. And the Murphy Millenium Reunion I hosted here in southern California on New Year’s Eve in 1999 – the day before Y2K. (Remember that?)

Can’t wait to see my copy of the book – and only wish I could be sitting next to my beloved Aunt Lil as she turns over every love-filled page!

Not the greatest photo – but a typical image of my Dad … who was rarely without a video camera!  (1993)

The creative cake that my sister-in-law contributed to the 1995 Murphy reunion

Adorable niece, Kellie, and delightful nephew, Kyle – who are all grown up now. (Me, on the other hand, hasn’t aged a bit!)

My Dad in 1995: “Still Perfect After All These Years” – and in an early photo (1920?) with his sister, Lillian (he’s the one on the left!)

clockwise from top left: Me and my bros: Ron-Bob-Jim; the youngest cone-headed Murphy boys playing on a vintage red (metal) tractor that we rode when we were their age; the Murphy group photo of 2013; my niece, Seiko, who lives in Japan, eating the largest hot dog she’s ever seen in her life!

Victory! Me and big brother, Jim – on left, after climbing to the top of Camelback Mountain (late 2000s?) – and this year after hiking a short distance into the Superstition Mountains in celebration of Jim’s successful battle with a serious blood cancer.