Get Crackin'

I just finished saying how I was sick of eating Egg Salad sandwiches, and I am. But now I am just as tired of eating Macaroni and Potato salad too. If I only had to eat it in the summer time, while sipping lemonade, fine. But for some reason, these foods are staples at a Funeral. Mention “Funeral” and I see Eggs.


We have just come home from yet another funeral. We are up to 5. I don’t know if I can handle anymore. This Memorial we came from today was a friend of my Husbands. They grew up together, him and his brothers. They went to school together. They played together. They farmed together. They hunted together. He was a young man with nothing but the gentlest heart and spirit. He worked hard and loved his family. He loved his friends. And everybody knew it.

Close to 600 people were in attendance today. To honor Clinton and celebrate the kind of man he was. They wanted to show support to his Mom and Dad and his two Brothers and Sister-in-Law. His Uncle spoke with such pride about his nephew, speaking nothing that wasn’t already known but every bit worth mentioning.

I am sad by the sudden tragedy of his death and sad that the world had to lose such a person. I am sad knowing that his Mom and Dad have lost a piece of their heart but pray steadily that they will fill it up with the comfort and support from those 600 people.

Today as we travelled home I was really struck with the finality of it all. I know what death means. I know that it happens to us all eventually or we will be affected by it or have already been. I know it is something that is possibly one of my greatest fears. It’s not like I’ve had some sort of sudden brainwave or iconic theory sculpting in my grey matter. It’s been said before. I don’t know by whom. For all I know, it could have been You. And it’s not that I haven’t thought it either but it was always a passing “Ya I know that” kinda’ thing.

This time, as we were leaving yet another Funeral, leaving behind loved ones to cope through their grief, I was really hit with the fact that in a matter of a split second, a matter of 5 minutes, a matter of one hour, your life can suddenly change.

Then we drove by a car on its side in the ditch.

~Sigh~

I kept thinking about this as I sat next to my Husband who was still reeling with his grief, as I kept turning around trying to soothe my poor baby who was extremely tired of her carseat, and as I kept tending to a very overtired two-year-old boy who just couldn’t decide what he wanted.

Then we were diverted off of the Highway for a “Police Emergency Up Ahead” sign.

~Bigger Sigh~

This is what I got in life. I’ve got a minivan filled with 2 tiny people, 1 loving man, a mess only the dump would love, my camera, a couple of books beside me, a wallet that reminds me of bills to pay, debt to hold off some more, and things I still want, my phone that makes my Facebook friends appear and a busy calendar that reminds me of days ahead.

I’ve got my fingers and toes, all the joints and muscles to move them with, my eyes and ears, my nose to smell those roses buried under the snow, and all my God-given abilities to do what I want and am capable of.

All inside my minivan.

When I looked around that Church today and I saw 600 people sitting and standing, hands folded, tears on cheeks, and tissues up sleeves, for one man. One man that made a difference to them no matter how slight. I wonder if he knew that he touched that many hearts? I have no doubt that as Clinton’s soul saw them all, he was honored.

I saw Greatness today. The true Greatness of another human being. For Clinton, his life has ended suddenly but as I took yet another bite of Potato salad I realized that I still have mine. It was stuffed inside my minivan and as we went by each accident and I saw that at any moment, my life could end too whenever my ticker tape rolls up, all I could do was take those things that I have been blessed with and decide that in some way, shape or form, I want to be what Clinton was to so many.

I want not to be selfish or arrogant, but to aspire to the knowing that 600 people in my life can say that I too, was a good person and I was worth being here on Earth. As cliché as it sounds, and I know it does, but I want to be my best and I want to love my best.

If I can love my children and my Husband anymore than I do now, or love my parents anymore, or my friends and other family, then I do.

There were many things inside my minivan today, but it is outside of it that I place my footprint and it is within it all of that where I want to Live before I die.

But please, no more Eggs. Not now.

It's Here!!!

So I escaped for a while. Okay, make that a long while. 2, almost 3 months has past since my last post and now it’s time I get back into the groove of things. To give a brief explanation as to where I have been hiding. In short, I’ve been with my family. November was a tough month for all of us as shortly after my last post we began attending funerals. Between Glen’s family and mine, 7 Uncles have either been diagnosed with a horrible disease or have passed away from one. Needless to say, after seven loved ones, I’ve had enough egg salad sandwiches.





Christmas came and went and I enjoyed every minute of it. We stayed put, refused to load the kids up in the van, and after 3 years, finally had a Christmas at home. It was wonderful. My husband had to work throughout but it worked out well. We had a huge family supper at my mother’s house and not short of 44 guests enjoyed a huge potluck. On comes the New Year and I’ve been in my basement, working like a dog trying to get every inch of my business venture up and running. Meeting with an accountant, setting up prices and packages, paperwork, advertising, and the biggest thing of all:

My Website!!

I’m so exciting about it. I’ve worked really hard trying to design something that would allow me to do exactly what I want: make it easier for me and easier for you. There are online galleries that will allow you to share a link to family and friends so they can see your photos too, download them if they like and purchase prints online! I’ve teamed up with Smugmug who provide an excellent service and fantastic quality products for a great price. These prints can be delivered right to your door, so you don’t have to do a thing. I’ve learned so much HTML code, CSS code, and every other type of code that I think I’ve turned into a slight geek, lol. (btw, I love geek’s). I’ve crashed-coursed it with the help of Google (I love Google too) and a VERY patient husband as well as some direct phone calls to a SmugMug customizer David Wolf, who listened to my ignorance with code with the flair only a Yankee can muster… lol.

Speaking of the US of A, I have to say that I’m really kinda beaming with some pride about the recent inauguration of their 44th President, Barack Obama. If you didn’t get a chance to see it (where were you??) it was astounding to see the number of people come together to show their support for one another and this new administration. It was amazing that with an estimated 1.8 million people in attendance that there wasn't a single incident or arrest made. I can't imagine the number of photos that were taken of that day. Speaking of which, if you weren't watching CNN that day, you probably missed this really cool technology, called Photosynth. CNN coloaborated with it's audience and took every photo uploaded of President Obama's Oath ceremony and put them all together to form The Moment. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out.

Don't forget the Exclusive Tab for current deals and promotions!! Please explore around, checking out links, viewing photos, etc. I would really appreciate any feedback that you may have or if you notice any errors that I may need to address. I am slow at Code but I will do my best to get it corrected.

In the meantime, I'm going to emerge from my basement and start snapping photos again. I've had enough of the behind the scenes business stuff and I'm hoping I've go enough done to at least present myself with some style. I'm looking forward to this year and meeting new faces, and most of all, taking photos of those new faces.

See you around!