Tonight, I share with you a piece of my crazy, fun family! This is my Dad, my cousin Edward, and my “Uncles” Moe and Pete entertaining Mister. This was too priceless to keep to myself. 🙂 Enjoy.
The Family
Protected: Time to Lighten the Mood
Grace
Grace…hard to define, but you know it when you feel it. It’s that “knowing.” That deep feeling of peace which grants us a moment’s respite from doubt, a split second of true unblemished contentment, a mere glimpse of the divine.
We feel it, but then as suddenly as it comes, it leaves and we’re left with a memory of the moment when we felt whole, hoping that it will descend upon us again. It cannot be forced, it cannot be replicated, it simply happens at unexpected moments.
I can remember several moments when Grace whispered.
The moment my son was laid upon my belly.
A moment, sitting on a rock on the shores of Lake George on a misty summer morning, the smell of campfire thick on my skin.
A moment, watching my daughter carrying my son down a leaf strewn path.
A moment, walking the virtually empty street in Saratoga in the early morning sunshine.
A moment, laying on a trampoline at Camp Wilton, looking up at the stars and feeling swallowed by the darkness.
Most moments of Grace are mere memories, captured only in my mind. But this moment, when I stepped off the path returning to the beach, with the lavender colors of the sky…catching sight of my family, with the vastness of the ocean beyond overwhelming me with gratitude and “knowing”…this moment I was fortunate enough to photograph
“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” -Anne Lamott
Peace, Love, and Sandy Feet
Just an appetizer…
“The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.”
–Isak Dinesen
Test of Mommy Fortitude
This creepy campfire shot from years ago seemed appropriate for this post…
So, Zan announced to me the other night that Dear Neighbor Man wants to go camping. Not just any old camping trip mind you. He wants to have a Daddy and Kids Adventure, complete with no Mommies…on an island…in the middle of a lake…reachable only by boat…with no bathroom facilities…and lions…and tigers…and bears, OH, MY! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating with the lions, tigers and bears part, but the rest is all true.
This announcement sent my panic meter into overdrive. The Whatifs started flashing by my eyes like a high speed movie straight out of Lost’s Dharma Room 29. The Whatifs are too numerous to list but they include anything ranging from poison ivy to snake bite to loss of life and limb in a variety of horrific imagined scenarios.
But in my quest to be a rational Mommy who doesn’t allow fear to restrict her childrens’ experiences, I said, “I’m sure you and the girls would enjoy that,” which was immediately followed by, “Oh, we’re taking Mister too! He’ll have a blast!!!”.
Exit air from Mommies lungs. Gasp for breath. Breathe through the panic. Breathe, breathe, breathe.
My darling husband wants to take my four year old boy, MY BABY, on a camping trip in the middle of Nowhere! Don’t get me wrong…I love the fact that these men, both wonderful Fathers WANT to do this thing with their kids (six kids by the way…they are WAY outnumbered without us women…) But…but…but….*breathe*
He quickly follows up with, “Imagine, you and A. would have the whole weekend alone to do whatever you want!” Ooooooh….now he’s playing dirty. An enticing proposition, I won’t lie. Responsible Worry Wart Never-Wants-to-be-Parted-From-Her-Kids Mommy on one shoulder being bullied by Irresponsible Selfish Wants-to-Do-Anything-She-Damn-Well-Pleases Mommy on the other. SO not fair.
Tell me, why do they have to push the envelope? Why couldn’t they first take the kids on a little local adventure at the nice safe campground 15 minutes away so I could swoop in at a moments notice and see my babies between my massage and my afternoon matinee? A nice little spot that is Ambulance accessible? With bathrooms…and a First Aid station?
That sounds like a win-win to me, don’t you agree??
A Half Hour a Day 