Happy Halloween

"KNOW YOURSELF.  ONLY THEN CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THE POWER YOU HAVE TO BRING CHANGE, NO MATTER HOW SMALL, TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU."  -  OPTIMUS PRIME, LEADER OF THE AUTOBOTS

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL YOU SENTIENTS!

Gone Daddy

It was 5 o'clock and Daddy had just left for work.  This little one went crying throughout the apartment, looking for him in every room. 

Four

 

“Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting.”

― Richard Paul Evans, The Gift

 

Happy Fourth Birthday Big Boy!  I'm always so grateful when I capture this smile.

Commitment

They started dating in 1949, when he was 16 and she was 15.

 They married on June 30th, 1956, when he was 22 and she was 21.

 All in all, they've been "going steady" for over 65 years.

My Dad, also lovingly known as "Pow Pow" by my oldest son, will turn eighty-one in just a few days.  But he's not just sitting idly around.  He and my mother, his one true and long time love, have been jet setting around the world for nearly 30 years and are presently on a trip to Easter Island.  

Happy birthday and happy travels to the greatest example of commitment I know.

Wind Chasers

“A kite is a victim you are sure of.

You love it because it pulls

gentle enough to call you master,

strong enough to call you fool;

because it lives

like a desperate trained falcon

in the high sweet air,

and you can always haul it down

to tame it in your drawer.

untitled-2-4.jpg

 

A kite is a fish you have already caught

in a pool where no fish come,

so you play him carefully and long,

and hope he won't give up,

or the wind die down.

A kite is the last poem you've written

so you give it to the wind,

but you don't let it go

until someone finds you

something else to do.”

- Leonard Cohen, The Spice Box of Earth

Pre-Season

Goalie

The family spent a beautiful Saturday morning at Riverbank State Park playing soccer, basketball and baseball.  The biggest highlight was this one-handed, four finger dunk (Daddy got the assist!) in front of the Holcombe Rucker tournament players.    

Four Finger Dunk

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Classic Compositon: Rule of Thirds {Week 44}

Our August topic is Classic Rules of Composition. The Rule of Thirds is a traditional guideline for composing an image which divides the canvas into nine equal parts. In composing your image, placing a point of interest on an intersection point which measures one third from the side edge of the canvas or from the top or bottom edges, results in a more visually interesting image than with an alternate placement.

Below is a photo of my oldest son, still very much an amateur swimmer.  But security comes in all forms.  Sometimes it's as simple as an inflatable fish boat and a couple of water wings.

Happy Summer!

Click HERE to visit our collective blog site, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.  

Afloat



Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my husband, my best friend...the one who makes our two young boys laugh with abandon.   

And to all the involved, loving and patient fathers out there - you are helping make this world a better place.

We celebrate you today! 

Letters to our sons | May

***I am so thankful to be a part of this blog circle "Letters to our Sons" with so many amazing photographers and moms.  In honor of our love for our little boys, we are posting a monthly image(s) along with a corresponding, heartfelt letter.  After reading my post, please click HERE to continue around the circle, starting with the very talented Lauren Ammerman. 

Dearest Cash,

I think I am coming to terms with it - finally.  It's been almost six weeks since your first major haircut - "major" being the key word to describe not only how much Daddy chopped off but also the kind of reaction I had afterwards.  The night before you were to have your preschool photo taken, I asked Daddy to give you a "shape up".  Translation:  Take a little off the top and clean up the sides around the ears.  Daddy had given you a shape up before, so I just assumed this time would be the same.  Off I went to put your baby brother down to sleep for the night, while Daddy sat you on a stool in the bathtub and got the clippers ready.  Yes, the clippers.    

About ten minutes later I walked past the bathroom and saw your hair was cut down to a "fade" of sorts.  Thinking it was close to being too short, I warned Daddy who assured me he was just cleaning up the spots that were too low because you kept moving your head.  It didn't take long however, for Daddy's promise to break into a million little pieces.  I walked out of Grey's room, past the bathroom and caught a glimpse of you out of the corner of my eye.  You were still seated on the stool smiling, as if to say, "Hey Mommy!  Look at my new haircut!"  My stomach just dropped and I Instantly burst into tears.  You were nearly bald.  You looked like you were suffering a terminal illness or had survived the squalid conditions of a child labor internment camp - and as your mother, I wasn't prepared for the shock.  Even writing this now I almost feel sick all over again.  With your glorious curls gone, replaced by a super low crew cut - I was definitely in a state.

 

"What happened?!!

         Why did you cut it so short?

        Oh My Gosh!!  What happened?!!" 

 

Daddy said it was because you moved your head and there was a huge bald spot that could only be fixed by cutting it all off.  Really?!!  I would have much preferred a bald spot over a full on shearing!  But not wanting you to feel insecure in any way about your new coif, I fought to get control of my emotions.  I walked out of the bathroom, closed the door behind me and went into the bedroom and cried.

I managed somehow to find the words to tell you that I liked your new haircut, that you looked amazing and beautiful -although I'm sure you hardly believed me.  Daddy took you to your room to read you a bedtime story while I took a deep breath and went back into the bathroom.  Your hair was everywhere - all over the floor, behind the toilet, in the tub.  I got down on my knees, tears streaming down my face, and started sweeping them up - saddened by how quickly the garbage can was filling up with your beautiful baby curls that had taken so long to grow.

That night after you had fallen asleep, I snuck in your room to just look at you.  I stayed in there for God knows how long.  Who was that little boy lying there?  My greatest wish was that when you woke up the next morning your hair would have grown - that you would have your little afro back.   

I realize that a major factor in my devastation was that my first baby was no more.  This new haircut instantly made you like you were ten years old, not three.  When I shared this story with some of the other moms at your school the next day, they were a total comfort.  "Was this his first big haircut?" one mother asked.  When I said it was, she shook her head and said, "Of course, that makes complete sense.  That first big haircut can be really hard for us [moms].  And Dads just don't get it."

The fact that the following day was school picture day was just the nail in the coffin.  I considered not taking you in to school and have you do the make up shot at the end of the month, but quickly decided that wasn't right.  You would proudly rock your new haircut in a photo with your teachers and friends.  I mean it's only hair and it will grow back I kept telling myself. Thankfully you have a grand collection of hats that you love and had already chosen one to wear the next morning.

I love you son, always and forever.

And already your curls are making a comeback!

Love, Mom 

    Little Lion King Afro:  In Memoriam