Okay, let's hear it for Valentine's Day, be it a curse or the best day of your life, one thing's for certain: you can still find a box of chocolate to make it all good!
There are so many Holidays that I adore, but as I've gotten older, getting over Valentine's Day has been a blessing. In college, it was one big flurry of flowers or not depending on who or if you were dating. Elementary school meant looking at your tiny Valentine's Day card and seeing if the boy you liked in class gave you a "special card", or making sure you strategically placed your Valentine in the correct person's box. And now married, it's safe and comfortable, and a bit more enjoyable. The most enjoyable part about it this year has to do with our daughter. We both have everything we want, and it has nothing to do with things or trinkets. This year we have delighted in her examination of a certain card from a certain friend, and my husband has ordered up some flowers for her this year. Watching her enjoy this Holiday has been the best thing so far.
It never hurts to be thought of no matter what the day, but I hope you have a fantastic weekend, no matter what the plans are! Enjoy the flowers below. Photo courtesy of www.yeltrik.net photography!
- Jack London, The Call of the Wild
This quote did not come by accident to me. It is from a favorite childhood book, "The Call of the Wild", by Jack London. I read this book as a young kid, and soon after I met one of the great loves of my life, a stray dog, whom I named Annie. Stray, well that's not entirely true. Annie was tied to a tree at a nearby neighboring house, and the four children who lived there, used to taunt her with a plastic baseball bat. I promptly marched myself over to their house one spring day, feeling very tough and assured. I began unleashing her from the tree. Suddenly, all the children had formed a circle around me. The oldest child, announced he would hit me with that bat if I didn't leave his dog alone. I looked him right in the eye and dared him. He stood puzzled at me, he would not hit a girl and I knew it and then I walked back to my house with Annie. For decades I was proud of that moment, I saved her. Later my mom told me, that they had called and my dad had to go over there and purchase the dog to keep them from claiming me as a "dog thief." I guess it never occurred to me that way, I just loved her from a distance and wanted to save her. Annie was a part of my life for many years, walking everywhere I went, a constant companion. She taught me about unconditional love and having responsibility for another creature.
We often don't get to keep our precious creatures the length of a human life. That is what can make this kind of love bittersweet. I was reminded of this as I met a new Friend named Amy and her dog Jack. She called to tell me he was sick and his time limited. She wanted to plan a day to capture their time together. And Jack was every bit as wonderful in person as Amy had said he was. Kind eyes, and a sweet disposition. He is loved head to toe and all the space in between, no doubt there. We took Jack outside in the snow and he changed, metamorphosed like a butterfly. From ailing to full fledged romping, and playing, he became a lively beast. Amy threw snowballs and he caught them mid-air, and suddenly he started rolling in the snow, making circles. It was quite funny. Amy played with him, throwing snow and chasing him. The world shrank in those moments, and I was merely an observer of a truly special relationship. A deep and abiding friendship.
I wish I could make him better, was my constant thought. Amy is such a kind person, I wish I could fix this. Mostly because I understand the situation, that I am able to understand the journey each will take. There is one image that stood out to me profoundly, it's of Jack shaking the snow off his fur. He looks more like a wild wolf than a domesticated dog. It gave me a great sense of peace, he is so well cared for, and his life is full, and will be. This is his legacy, and what a wonderful way to be loved and cared for. I don't think anyone could give more, and that goes both ways.
For the rest of the year we have decided that any session where an animal is involved we will donate a percentage to the local Humane Society, in honor of Jack.
Thanks for the lovely day.
This year has been a growing and a learning season. We grow by leaps and bounds, and I continue to grow as a photographer and a person, but I often ask myself, "What is the goal, or purpose, of my work?" My heart always answers back, "To create something that families will love and cherish always." And that's not a generic answer, but really how I feel. There is often more emotional energy involved in photography than most people would ever know. To see, in an instant, what expression or action will best characterize the person you photograph, means you forever record in that moment how others will reflect on them later. If you do it right, it is not merely snapping away with the camera.
I look back at images of my grandmother and all the Christmases past that we had together as a family. An image of her washing dishes at the sink, turned halfway to the camera and smiling. An image of her carrying a stack of wood in, with snow drifted to her knees, wearing her usual red flannel coat. Small details of a person I love so dearly that don't fade with time, but remain there for me to grasp as I need. Other images of her with my grandfather and mother, as a baby, in their home in a coal mining town. All three of them sitting on an iron bed together one December, it is a rather sobering image. I know they worked much harder than I'll ever know, and yet they made it. A gift of my mother's handprint hangs on the wall. Christmas was about the little things, like oranges, apples, or rather fruits not of the iPod kind. The picture creates a story in my head about a time and a place that I would have never known. By the time I was born the picture had changed greatly.
We spend a lot of time and money on things that pile up in our homes. And the truth is and I am sure it holds true for most people, if you could trade all that for a Christmas past, you would in a heartbeat. It is the SIMPLE GRACES that get us thru life. Take a moment over the holiday to look around, look at all the details of your loved ones. Take out that camera, whatever it may be, and keep those memories, because on December 26, they then become a Christmas past.
