In the midst of such thoughts has come an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Not just for the good things in life, but for the hard things, too. I have a lot for which to be grateful, and I was reminded of that as I scrolled through some photos my friend snapped Labor Day weekend. My sweet friend Kristen was in town for the weekend - we hadn't seen each other in four years, but throughout that time we still managed to talk about once a week. She's a photo fanatic so to say she took a few pictures would be an understatement. Try close to 500. But of those hundreds, I could see in each something to be grateful for.
Friendships
I think small pieces of my life and my heart have been coming back to me in recent weeks, primarily in the form of friendships. Alex returned from Germany after being gone for 6 weeks. Kristen visited after 4 years. Joy moved back to Ohio with her husband after living in Washington for nearly 5 years. Jill finally caught her breath and stopped in one place long enough to sit down and have dinner with me. Such sweet parts of my life. Women that I'm so grateful for. And then Nick entered my life - that one's definitely taking some getting used to. Attaching the word "boyfriend" to someone in regard to me is a very foreign concept. But his presence is appreciated probably more than he could fully understand. And it's not just those people solely that have been reminders - I have co-workers and former colleagues that get added to the list of friendships to be grateful for.
Then there are the details. I'm learning more and more about the little things that make a big difference, the value of not overlooking the small and the mundane. Kristen and I decided to go out on a limb and do a photo shoot of me in this old prom dress I have. We basically went around our house and farm and snapped photos of whatever we thought would look good. I told her I wanted a picture of me with my pony, Bud - but just of our feet. So here we are in my houndstooth-print rain boots and prom dress with Bud's little feet next to mine. It reminds me of the details because it's just a smaller piece of a bigger whole. I need to be reminded of that perspective more often.
Family
Families will forever be dysfunctional in some way, shape, or form in my book. I had never seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine before until a month or so ago. I spent more time laughing during that movie than I had in awhile - because splashed on the TV were tiny glimmers and reflections of my own family. I often sit back and tell myself, "We are so not normal. And I love it." Somehow we still manage to embrace family and all that it is. I snapped this photo of my niece while we were visiting my brother's family one night. I think it is one of the most precious photos of her because I caught it at just the right moment when she had this particular look on her face. I'm not sure what word I would use to describe it, but I love it either way.
No comments:
Post a Comment