The Day I Snapped

It was just a normal week day, with nothing extraordinarily significant going on. I had been taking pictures of my kids and other stuff, as I so frequently do. You can imagine how many pictures I have taken over the years with eight kids' lives to record! So, on this normal weekday with nothing extraordinarily significant going on, I snapped a picture that stood out from the rest. It was quite by accident, but the main focus of the picture, a flower, was crystal clear and the rest of the picture was blurred. It looked very much like I had done that intentionally, but it was a complete accident. My rather new camera, a Valentine's Day present from my hubby, was talented!

Later, I showed the picture to my husband and he commented on what a good picture it was.

My kids had already commented, "Cool pic, Mom."

So, I was hooked. I thought that if my camera could take such good pics with no special effort on my part, it could certainly take exceptional pictures if I really tried and utilized all its wonderful features.

I was hooked.

And that's the day I snapped. And I snapped. And I snapped all day. And on every vacation. And on every walk the kids and I took. And on every average week day. And when we saw some beautiful bird in the yard. I snapped and snapped and snapped all the pictures I could and I was having a blast!

Then, I entered some of my favorite pics in the county fair.

And they all won awards!

So, I snapped more. And I took an online digital photography course (Thanks, Digital Photography School!). And I snapped more.

And, this hobby has grown, passed onto a few of my kids and become a real joy in my life.

That's what happened the day I snapped.  I snapped pictures. And I had a blast. And I still am.

I now consider myself an award-winning amateur photographer. What fun!

Have you snapped lately?
~Tricia

Living the Dream

Thanks to Facebook, I'm back in touch with a young woman who used to come to our house while her mother worked.  She's in many of our family pictures from that period when I babysat her, and I remember her so fondly.  She was a true delight in our lives and seemed to fit into our family seamlessly whenever she came.

Now, because of Facebook, I get to see her as a young mom herself and her children, even though I've never met them in person, are delightful to see in the pictures she often posts.  She's living the dream!  When I see her pictures, I also see the setting. Sometimes it's the park. Sometimes it's the living room. Sometimes it's a relatives's house. Sometimes it's a museum or a pumpkin patch.  Every time I see those pictures, I realize she's living the dream and I smile.

And, I realize I lived the dream when my kids were little, too.  I'm still living the dream.  Home with my kids, contentment abounds.  I have time to contemplate, time to feel what I'm doing, time to enjoy pictures of a family living the same dream and I rejoice.

Young moms, embrace and live the dream to its fullest.  You are not wasting your time, energy and education by staying home with your kids.  You are living the dream and it's truly remarkable to see children grow.  The dream changes over time, so be prepared.  I still have 3 kids at home and still love watching them grow, but now that I have 5 kids out of the house, I'm very acutely aware of the pace in which these last 3 will also leave home.

Nah, this isn't a wake-up call; I've been acutely aware of this for a long time.  But, today, I saw pictures of this young woman's children again and I was struck with the joy on their faces and the background of their home in the picture and it reminded me of myself, snapping pictures when my kids were being silly or performing a great feat of jumping over a bucket or some such activity.  

How I rejoice with and for this young woman, whom I have the privilege of knowing now, and also had the privilege of knowing when she, herself, was a little girl.  Keep on living that dream!

I see the same joy and dream in the faces of my 2 oldest daughters, who are now mothers themselves. My heart aches with longing as they are half a continent away and money is too tight to make enough trips to see them....(not to mention I can't just leave these other 3 kids home and take off like that).  So, I depend on pictures and Skype and frequent conversations via phone or text to keep up on what and how they are doing. And I'm ever so thankful that my daughters get to live the dream of raising kids and experience the joy of motherhood.

One never, ever gets over being a mom, no matter how old her kids get.  It's a lifelong joy. Right now, I'm on both sides of life with this one.  I have 5 kids grown and on their own, but I still have 3 at home. It's pretty cool to get to experience both phases at the same time, and it gives a perspective that I'm finding unique and fascinating.  

~Tricia