Life, in Pictures

Today I rested. I did little besides simple housework, packing packages for eBay sales and catching up on email, Facebook and other online things. The weather was gorgeous: blindingly clear air, no humidity, a perfect Spring day. And I did not even get outside for more than a few minutes. This old lady needed some down time and I got it, even taking a 2-hour nap which is so rare for me. It tells me I needed to stop and re-charge.

I still need to drive to the airport, an hour away, to pick up Larry this evening. He and Tommy had a good trip to Dallas; now Tommy is in Abilene, TX on his way to his new home in San Diego, CA. It's bittersweet. I want him to live life with no boundaries, what we all want for our offspring, but to see this youngest son take off is no easy thing. In today's world, however distance is only a physical measure. Cell phones, Facebook, and airlines have melted the space to nearly nothing and I keep reminding myself of that fact.

Somehow in the rush of recent travels and his early morning departure, I missed getting a photo of us together. That just means I'll have to get out there sooner, right? I did take this one a couple weeks ago as he prepared for an interview. (Do you know how hard it is for a bodybuilder to find clothes that fit?) He'll be in graduate school and working in San Diego.

There have been many good moments this week. And because I was so involved in being part of them, I did not take as many photos as I'd like--being photographer means stepping out of the action and observing and sometimes that is not what I want to do. Still, there are these, in random order:

Kate's graduation party was held at Hidden Brook Winery, owned by friends of our family and all-round great people, Eric and Debbie Hauck. Lots of family came and even with the heat we had such a good time. This photo is with Kate (center), her four sisters and me (with cousins Jared, Hannah and Grace in the background). These daughters of my son Jon are talented girls: Cassidy on the left is a singer/songwriter, Jordan is a mommy and getting ready to go back to college, Kate won first place in a Virginia poetry contest for high schools, Sarah is at Duke University, and Allison is already being scouted by major universities for volleyball. Jared is in college too, getting ready to start his third year.

Cassidy and her producer Todd Wright provided music for Kate's party. Cassidy's CD will be out soon so look for more on that. Check this link for information about her songs being on TV on a new show called Hollywood Heights on Nick @ Nite!

On the way to the graduation Haley, Hannah, Jared and I stopped at an overlook to stretch our legs.

Jared said, "I bet there's a geocache here." And they were off.

 They didn't find it before we had to leave but it was nice break in the drive anyway. Somehow they use their cell phones to track these things. I can see why it's so much fun--like a scavenger hunt.

At the writers conference I attended a workshop given by my friend Marc Harshman. Marc is known as a children's author with multiple books to his credit, but he is also one of the best poets I know. I am not alone in thinking that--he was recently named as West Virginia's Poet Laureate, and honor truly earned.

And at home, peaceful flowers waited on the porch.

It was good to slow down for a bit today, just to catch up and savor the many memories of the past few days.



Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.