When a California woman decided to have her photograph taken while baking with her granddaughter, she could never have predicted the impact it would have.
Photographs can be a powerful tool in helping shape the way we feel about ourselves and our family. In 2023, a survey of 6,000 UK and US adults conducted by The Pulse Business on behalf of family photo journal app BackThen, highlighted just how effective they can be.
It revealed that 94 percent of parents polled felt more connected with their families when looking at their child’s photos together. The survey also found that 89 percent felt these shared moments amplified their child’s sense of belonging.
That sense of connection was one Jeralyn Wirtz was undoubtedly left feeling after posing for a picture with her granddaughter last year, during an afternoon of baking in her daughter’s kitchen. Yet the true power of the image was not revealed straight away.
Baking has always played a role in family life for Wirtz. “When my daughter Nicole was a child we loved cooking and baking together in the kitchen,” Wirtz told Newsweek. “That’s something my late mother and I used to do also, so it was special to share that with my daughter and now my granddaughter.”
Though times have changed and Wirtz doesn’t get to bake as much as she used to, she never misses an opportunity to get in the kitchen at her daughter’s home.
“When we visit our grandkids and there’s an opportunity to bake together, we love it!” she said. “It’s such a great way to bond and make memories together.”
A shared desire to make memories from their time together is what led to Wirtz being snapped alongside her granddaughter in the kitchen on that particular day.
It’s a wonderful snapshot of family life with both Wirtz and her granddaughter smiling and happy together in the home. Captured on Wirtz’s phone, the image was one she treasured for the year that followed, happy to look back on and smile from time to time.
But it took on a new meaning a few weeks later, after Wirtz made an unexpected discovery. “I was going through old photo albums and ran across one of my daughter when she was younger baking cookies. I put it aside because I wanted to post it,” Wirtz said. “Then a few weeks later I found the picture of my granddaughter and I baking from last year that I had saved on my phone.”
Looking at the two images, side by side, Wirtz had a moment of realization.
“I got chills because my granddaughter looked exactly like her mother back then. The same pose and smile— they looked identical,” Wirtz said. “It was surreal and brought back so many precious memories.”
Wirtz and her husband of 47 years Michael, have a significant following on their TikTok, @jeriandmike, so she decided to create a slideshow comparing the two pictures for her followers to see.
“We love posting old family photos and memories throughout our lives so I knew our audience would really enjoy it because there’s such a striking resemblance in each photo,” she said.
The video got a huge response with over 340,000 views and counting since being shared last month. “Omg they’re twins! Momma really copied and pasted herself,” one user commented. “You telling me that’s not the same person?” another asked.
Wirtz has been blown away by the response. “I love reading all the comments because it really inspired other people to look at their old family photos and reminisce about their childhood memories with their parents and grandparents,” she said.
Wirtz thinks that’s why her post has proven such a big hit and why photographs are such a power tool. “Everyone can relate to this and still hold those memories so close to their hearts,” she said.
The post Woman Takes photo with Granddaughter, Then Makes Emotional Realization appeared first on Newsweek.
