Looking Through My Lens

Dad, why did you buy her that camera?

This is an often posed question from my 16 year old daughter, one of the main subjects of my lens and trigger finger. A year and a half ago, for our 22nd wedding anniversary (yes, I was married when I was twelve…lol) my wonderful husband bought me a new digital camera. My husband, being the electronics nut that he is, researched all the best sellers and settled on one he thought I would like and would do what I wanted it to do. So naturally, now, for every event, for every drive up in the mountains, holiday or just because, I’m snapping pictures right and left, up and down, and sideways. I’ve taken more photographs in the last year than I have in the previous five years, trying to capture that oh so perfect moment in time.

Today, my husband and I were going through my father-in-law’s photo books and keepsakes trying to find the perfect photos and momentos to tell the story of his nearly nine decades. My father-in-law passed away December 31st at the age of 88. His memorial service is next Monday. He lived with us for the last year and a half and while it wasn’t always easy, it was worth it. My husband was able to reconnect with his father, and my youngest daughter and I were all able to hear the many stories of his life, of his childhood and the years before we knew him.

My father-in-law had many photo books and loose photos he’d collected over the years. We have them spread out on the dining room table, black and white and faded color photos of the people he loved. We are creating vignettes to put on picture boards so we can share and celebrate his life through pictures.

I love photographs. They capture a moment in time that is otherwise easily set aside or forgotten. So, my daughter (and everyone else) will just have to live with my camera in their face.

Because I never want to forget.
originally posted January 10, 2009

Fill'er Up!

It’s late. I’m tired. I’m blogging!

I started this venture gung-ho and ready to rock the world with my thoughts and prose, fulfilling my dream of being a writer. But, alas, the joys, the demands, and the needs of those most important to me, in other words, life, has gotten in the way after my first post.

Springtime is one of my favorite, but most hectic times of the year, mostly because it brings the closure of another school year and the demands of end-of-the-school-year banquets, award ceremonies, parties and graduations. It also brings the excitement for my offspring that they’ve completed another year of education and are ‘off’ for the summer! Woohoo! As I get older, I suffer from a bit of jealousy when this annual ritual begins with the days growing hotter and the sun brighter.

When my kids were younger, my envy was driven by a yearning to be home with them for the summer months sharing quality and quantity family time instead of working in an office building. As I’ve grown older and my kids have become teenagers verging on young adults, there’s still a yearning and a need to share quality time, but my teens now have lives of their own and the days of wondering (and hoping, on those really demanding days) when I’d have some time for myself has finally arrived!

Sort of.

The last month has been a whirlwind. I blinked and the month of May came to a close. The days were filled with track practices and meets, academic and sports banquets, and a work schedule that has become a bit more frantic. But, it’s also been filled with a visit from my daughter who attends college in Minnesota, the only home she’s ever known, and a very old friend (we’re talking high school) and his wife, also from Minnesota. I was able to take time off from work for both visits and we spent our time traversing the Colorado roads, some well traveled, some off the beaten path, sharing the Rocky Mountains (God’s country), wonderful laughter and precious time (God’s gifts) with those most important in my life.

I’ve learned one important thing over the last 20 years (well, actually many things, but those aren’t the topic for this blog)– that you can’t put things off until tomorrow. No more “I’ll do that….when I have more money….when I lose 20 lbs….when my kids are older…”
I really didn’t let life get in the way, instead I let life fill my soul and dominate my time– my cup over floweth. It was filled with family, friends, memories and fresh Coors beer from the brewery in Golden, Colorado. Okay, you know I don’t drink the phenonmenon that is hops and grain, but the rest of the adults enjoyed it!

I encourage you to do the same– no, not drink the beer. It may not happen every minute of every day, but do it and do it often, ‘it’ being whatever that something is that fills you to overflowing.

I lied, I have a lot of philosophical thoughts to share!

Until next time…fill ‘er up!

originally posted June 9, 2008

Hello World! I'm Blogging!

What would ever possess me, one very average woman, to start a Blog?

As I organize my thoughts, I’m still not sure what has driven me to put pen to paper, or in this case, fingers to keyboard. Does anyone put pen to paper anymore? I hope to get closer to answering that question with each blog I compose. I have a hunch that at age 44–almost 45, I’ve decided I just might have something to say.

Sitting here, composing my first ever blog, I’m watching Def Leppard perform on Dancing With the Stars. Good grief, will these groups from the 80s never die? I jest! The rock of the 80’s is the music of our lives–of my life at least. While I’ve always loved music–dating back to my 8-track tape of the Bay City Rollers, which, by the way, is still in a drawer in a large bookshelf at my dad’s house–working for an Entertainment Retailer for 17+ years exposed me to music I otherwise may never have experienced. If anything, it’s taught me an appreciation for a wide variety of music genres and cultures. I think it’s opened me to understanding my daughters’ music, or at least, respecting their choices. Note: Parental discretion was used during their younger years!

At this very moment I have Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell I & II in my multi-disc CD player in my car, along with a CD by Celtic Woman, REO Speedwagon and Gary Allen. The radio station most played in my Fusion, is 92.5 The Wolf, a Denver country station, with Jesse and Shotgun in the morning, two DJs from Wisconsin. Born and raised in Minnesota and having lived there for all but 3 years of my life, I can soooo relate to their morning show! I’ve been in Colorado for a little over a year and I love it! But, I will never forget my roots. Also programmed on my dial is a pop station, an oldies station–which plays non-stop Christmas music from Thanksgiving to Christmas– a local station and a christian station. Of course, for my husband’s listening pleasure, there’s sports talk radio.

Wow, without knowing where I was going, I’ve managed to write a complete first blog!

Woohoo!

My parting thoughts…As Marvin O’Day would say, oops, I should say “sing” –Objects in the rearview mirror, they appear closer than they are… Don’t forget your roots, where you came from, your relationships, or your experiences. You can never leave them behind…all these things shape us into who we are.

Maybe, if I can make you smile by sharing a little bit of myself, it will all be worth dabbling in the technology of today, the World Wide Web.

Oh, and don’t worry, I’m not always so philosophical.

Til next time…Life is one exhilarating ride, get on as often as you can!
originally posted April 30, 2008