The first day of school started out June Cleaver-style,of course. Lots of singing, a beautifully prepared breakfast, 2 shiny-faced, smiling girls in plaid skirts and sparkling shoes. And here's where you hear the proverbial record scratch sound...SCREECH!! And hit replay...
The first day of school started at midnight, because Serena was having trouble sleeping, of course. So, morning came with 2 sleepy-faced girls in pajamas. No singing. No plaid. Bare shuffling feet.
Natalie had asked me to double french braid her hair so it could be "kinky" in the morning. A style we have done many times over the summer, making it a sure thing that it would turn out, right? Wrong. Not when you're 13 and life depends on the perfect hairstyle for the first day of school!! After missing her hot breakfast, she spent the next 30 minutes lamenting over her hair, tears in her eyes to boot. We left the house with straight hair, running 10 minutes behind schedule. It was all I could do to keep myself from saying all the things that were in my head. I kept my travel mug full of coffee, dreaming of the peace I'd find at 8:30 when I arrived back home. Alone.
I spent my day doing my usual housekeeping, including a chocolate chip cookie baking session, a tradition for the first day of school. Nothing a little cookie dough can't fix in a harried mom, right? Talked to my friend for a very long time, did a little exercise. Ahhh...who needs Calgon anyway.
At the end of the school day I picked Nat up first, anxious to hear about her day. "Everyone loves my hair!" She exclaimed, before saying anything else. Oh, to be 13 and have your life be all about hair. I miss those days. Oh, wait, I didn't care about my hair until....well, maybe I never did. She then went on to tell me how great it was to sit at the "round" tables this year, and who sat with her, who this and who that. And how is "actual school", I asked. "Oh, it's the same as last year." And the "who's" aren't?, I secretly wondered.
Serena's pick up was a bit more exciting. She jumped in the van, wearing her black motorcycle jacket, a consignment find that "blew her mind". "How was the first day of sixth grade?" I asked with a mom smile.
"oh, it's the same as last year," she replied, adding, "and everyone loved my hair!" not knowing her sister had just said that same thing. Then she went on to tell me some exciting news.
"Mom, we were just sitting there in homeroom, and all of the sudden, Mrs. X went to her knees, covered her head, and yelled, "AHHH..it's a bird!!" The kids looked around in confusion, then one kid called out, "No, it's not a bird. It's a BAT!" Somehow a bat had made its way into a kid's locker. It then was awakened by that kid, causing it to fly into the hallway and into Serena's homeroom . The janitor came, trash cans in tow, hoping to catch Batman's best friend. Serena laughed as she told me how he chased it around the class, swinging the trash cans in the air. The kids watched in enjoyment rather than in fear, as their teacher cowered under her desk, leaving them to fight for themselves!
And so it goes, we are back to school. Back to crazy schedules. Back to studying. Back to sports, grades, and homework. And me? I'm back to being by myself. Eating bon bons. Watching soaps. Talking on the phone. And pulling all of your legs.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Shoot
On Saturday, we went to get more corn to freeze and to scout out more photo shoot locations. Our nephew James was coming on Sunday for me to do his senior pictures, so I wanted to have an idea of where to take them. Serena was my willing subject, so we spent a somewhat rainy afternoon shooting pictures in many locations.
Sunday was spent with James and his mom, going from place to place, shooting all kinds of pictures. When all was said and done, I took over 300 pictures! He's quite athletic (ripped, I guess they call it), so we took lots of "muscle poses". It was fun for me, having shot mostly girls so far. It was a 6 hour photo shoot, though, and I was whipped at the end of it. Steve was my trusty assistant. In fact, he was the one who inspired me to get into photography years ago when his own photos blew me away! He took lots of great pics of James too...and captured him well.
The most important thing was that we all had a laughter-filled day, and James loves all of his pictures! I have enjoyed getting to know our nieces and nephews by being allowed to photograph them. It really is a great way to learn their personalities. It was great practice for me too. I've been told many many times to make it my profession. I don't know...I think I like having fun with it and not calling it a "job" so far.
Sunday was spent with James and his mom, going from place to place, shooting all kinds of pictures. When all was said and done, I took over 300 pictures! He's quite athletic (ripped, I guess they call it), so we took lots of "muscle poses". It was fun for me, having shot mostly girls so far. It was a 6 hour photo shoot, though, and I was whipped at the end of it. Steve was my trusty assistant. In fact, he was the one who inspired me to get into photography years ago when his own photos blew me away! He took lots of great pics of James too...and captured him well.
The most important thing was that we all had a laughter-filled day, and James loves all of his pictures! I have enjoyed getting to know our nieces and nephews by being allowed to photograph them. It really is a great way to learn their personalities. It was great practice for me too. I've been told many many times to make it my profession. I don't know...I think I like having fun with it and not calling it a "job" so far.
Friday, September 2, 2011
A Fresh-Brewed Life
I'm reading a new book! Okay, it's not so new. In fact, it was published in 1999, but it's new to me! It's called Fresh-Brewed Life (A stirring invitation to wake up your soul) by Nicole Johnson. I actually purchased it at a friend's garage sale, and was drawn to the steaming coffee cup on the cover!
I'm still a fairly new coffee drinker, having only been drinking the stuff for maybe 2 years now. Some days I still taste it and go, "AAAAACK! Why do I drink this stuff??" Some days I wrap my hands around my mug, hunker down in my chair and let it soothe me with it's creamy vanilla-ness.
So this book is a big metaphor, one of them being that we are the coffee beans, life is the grinder, and God is the water. I'm kind of a sucker for neat metaphors, so this one has my full attention. It's funny too that some days my coffee is perfect, and some days it's toilet water, just like life at times.
One of the points that "woke me up" in Chapter one, Surrender to God, was that "Christian life is not about trying harder. It is not about keeping it all together. It is about trusting in the One who can keep it all together." And yet another point reminds me that we are loved, for reasons we don't even know, but we don't have to DO anything to be loved. If God loved us because we were smart, then we'd be trying too hard to be smarter. If he loved us because we were beautiful, we'd be trying too hard to be pretty. Nope. He just loves us. And we don't know why. Isn't that a kick?
Well, sometimes coffee can be a kick too. I'm still not 100% in love with Juan Valdez, but I'm really liking this book!
I'm still a fairly new coffee drinker, having only been drinking the stuff for maybe 2 years now. Some days I still taste it and go, "AAAAACK! Why do I drink this stuff??" Some days I wrap my hands around my mug, hunker down in my chair and let it soothe me with it's creamy vanilla-ness.
So this book is a big metaphor, one of them being that we are the coffee beans, life is the grinder, and God is the water. I'm kind of a sucker for neat metaphors, so this one has my full attention. It's funny too that some days my coffee is perfect, and some days it's toilet water, just like life at times.
One of the points that "woke me up" in Chapter one, Surrender to God, was that "Christian life is not about trying harder. It is not about keeping it all together. It is about trusting in the One who can keep it all together." And yet another point reminds me that we are loved, for reasons we don't even know, but we don't have to DO anything to be loved. If God loved us because we were smart, then we'd be trying too hard to be smarter. If he loved us because we were beautiful, we'd be trying too hard to be pretty. Nope. He just loves us. And we don't know why. Isn't that a kick?
Well, sometimes coffee can be a kick too. I'm still not 100% in love with Juan Valdez, but I'm really liking this book!