Old photos are like glue that holds our family stories together over time.

The team at AARP @aarpphoto invited @savefamilyphotos to take over their Instagram feed this week to share vintage Kodachrome portraits of my grandmother Sarah Lincoln LaCour.

My grandmother is many things.

Mostly, she is a force of nature. (And she doesn’t let anyone call her “grandma.” She’s simply Sarah Lincoln.)

Sarah Lincoln has a large, wood-paneled wall of family photos. As a child, I walked along that wall and stared at my family’s faces. I saw my grandparents as children; my father graduating from high school, my uncle as a student in New York City, my aunt at a swim meet, my grandparents on their wedding day. I saw faces full of hopes and dreams…before I ever existed.

In those moments, I realized something powerful. My story started before me.

Check out more beautiful vintage kodachrome images of Sarah Lincoln @aarpphoto ~shared by @rachellacour