I have begun to take a meditation class once a week, offered at the university. It is on Thursdays, when the bulk of my week is done, and before the heavy homework time of the weekend begins.
I can already tell, after two weeks, that it is positively changing my life. Learning to be mindful may be the most valuable lifelong skill I take away from university life.
I’ve had so much fun revisiting my old photos and came across a series of raindrop photos. So, I predict rain for the next few days….at least on my blog.
The never-ending winter encourages one to look for summer memories. This is one of my favourite “after the rain” shots.
Heading out to take photos today hopefully, but in the meantime, this was my photo from one year ago today. I like looking back….I rediscover from of my favourite photos.
Sometimes a simple picture is just all there is….
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain. – Longfellow
I’ve had a slow start to summer – finding the rhythm of not having schedules to follow.
I started working as a teaching assistant for a number of reasons, but a big factor was being off work when my children were off. Ten years ago, that made a lot of sense – I had two children, aged 10 and 13. It worked well when they were home. Now, there is a huge open space that is summer. And I know, you are thinking, wow, how lucky is that? I know how lucky I am to have my summers off and since I am not paid over the summer months, I am doubly lucky that I am able to afford that.
That being said, I find the transition into being home difficult I think because the absence of my children hits harder. As I’ve talked about in this blog as well as my writing one, I could not be happier for my children, that they have rich and fulfilling lives. They are doing what they should be doing – living THEIR lives. I am blessed to have them a part of my life, via Skype, texts, phone calls or face-to-face. Yet, there is this keenly felt space where they used to be.
I was never a mom who couldn’t wait for my children to leave home – I stayed home pretty much full-time for 12 years in order to be a hands on, involved mom. For the past two years, neither of the children (now adults) have been living at home. So, the perk of taking the job with the summers off to be with them is gone. And it makes me wonder, should I do something else? Then, I have a couple of days in a row where I get things done and I accomplish so much and I get to lie in the hammock in between bouts of activity….and I remember that summers off, no matter what, are a good thing. A wonderful thing. A thing to embrace.
Over the past week or so, I’ve not been feeling the summer vibe at all. Feeling like I was standing in the rain without an umbrella. My hubby reminded me about the great summer I ended up having last year – how much I enjoyed being home. So, I did what the quote said – I let it rain. As I have done often over the last several years, I just allowed the reality of the empty nest to set in and then found a new way to spend my days.
Off to the hammock to start a new book….
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane. – Oscar Wilde
Looking at photos, we form an opinion….perhaps not even consciously. At some level, we decide whether to stop and look further, or simply skip right past. My hubby has strong artistic opinions and so when we are looking through shots I take, I usually get him to help me decide which ones are worthy of keeping and possibly posting, and which ones are not.
When I first began taking photos, it was hard because I loved so many more of my photos than he did. Over time, he taught me to be more critical – for example, the off centre focus that dominates my photos came about because he suggested I compare photos taken straight on versus off centre to decide which I preferred.
Now, I still get his opinion, but we disagree as often as we agree and I have the final say, mainly because it’s my finger on the “delete” button.
So, the above photo is one that I thought was “meh” but my hubby liked. Today, his opinion won out.
This morning, as I went through some posts of people I follow, I came across this one by Sheila Creighton, an amazing photographer. I was inspired to run outside with my camera (and my umbrella) to get some shots of hostas and other plants. I wasn’t happy with my shots but when I headed in and put down the umbrella at the front door, I noticed the drops on the umbrella. I usually keep my flash off, but the light emitted from the camera just prior to the shot lit up the raindrops. So, turning on the flash, I shot away. There is something really simple about raindrops.
“On the fifth day, which was a Sunday, it rained very hard. I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.”
― Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
I have not posted in almost a week not because I’ve been lost….rather because I treated myself and hubby to a trip to see our daughter. This involved travelling pretty much across the country and back in 3 days. Worth every tired moment.
Until I can regroup, there’s a shot the captures both the weather here and there – wet!
Today we had several heavy rains – welcome relief for the garden.
While we were in Utah last week, we had several “sun showers”. Heavy downpour, heavy sunshine. Loved it!
