Looking back to reclaim the past in a new way

Ever since I have been separated, whenever I would look at pictures of my boys from our old home (before the separation) I would feel extremely sad and a wee bit depressed.  I haven't yet been able to reconcile the two parts of my life as a mother together.  I have moved on, without looking back.  The only way I could move on was to keep my eyes on the road ahead of me, so to speak, and to not allow myself to look back.  Well, eventually, I'm not going to be able to avoid looking back.  Eventually, the boys will want to look at photos of them as a baby.  I need to deal with these feelings.

Tonight I looked back at about 3 1/2 years worth of photos that I have on my Facebook page, and I finally decided to delete all of the pictures containing my ex.  Why?  Well, it's about damn time, that's why!  I never looked back at those old pictures, so it didn't bother me that they were there.  And, part of me felt that it was part of the story, so why delete them.  But now, I want to reclaim part of that past that is exclusively mine.  I want to be able to look back at the pictures, from before my separation, and be able to connect with them from the here-and-now, with joy.  I cannot allow myself to live with regret and disappointment about the past!  What's done is done.  It may be sad, yes.  But there is still so much joy, of motherhood, that I need to reclaim and carry forward with me.  My history as a mother did not start 2 1/2 years ago, so why should I only allow myself to live with those memories.  The memories of the entire time of motherhood are so precious, and I can allow myself to enjoy and cherish them all.  Yes, "he" was still in the picture then too, but I'm not ready or able to reconcile with that fully yet.  I can first allow all the memories about myself and my children resurface in my head, and then maybe I'll be able to process it all...... eventually.