The day my daughter stood up by herself for the first time.
The day I said my wedding vows.
Laughs over a round of drinks.
Days in the sun.
Days making the best of it.
My Dad near the end looking frail.
The latest iOS update brought widgets to our home screens, a trophy that Android has held above the heads of the others for years.
When I tapped ‘Download and Install’ and waited for that white bar to fill up, I wasn’t expecting to discover The Window.
The Window is the new Photos widget. It’s a two by two square, that nudges aside four icons on your home-screen. It carefully plucks photos out of your library and frames them—I’m not sure how, but it has a knack for exposing memories. Memories of absolute joy, and memories you’d rather forget sometimes. It’s one of the most profound experiences I’ve ever had while using a digital device, it feels like the ‘magic’ that Apple proudly announces each of its devices somehow contain. It’s the first time in a while that a slab of silicon, glass and aluminium has stretched a huge smile across my face, or brought me close to tears.
What I can see out The Window doesn’t always stir the emotions that I want or need, especially on the days I need the opposite. That won’t stop me walking by, every day to see what’s through it.