I will never forget Angry Snow White. Somewhere along the way she had snapped. Could it have been consuming one too many apples, making one too many unmade beds, serving one too many grumpy dwarves, or maybe it was taking one too many photos with tourists? Seconds after this shot was taken, Snow took those scrubbing hands of hers and sent the girls flying forward with a shove and a sickly sweet high pitched, "Have a nice day!" They caught themselves from hitting the pavement and looked at me with large surprised and amused eyes. "Um... Mom? Snow White just pushed us!" We could have been angry, but we chose to laugh. At their young age, they were able to see the humor in the situation and know that sometimes even Snow White does not have a very nice day. At my older age, I could feel her pain from dieting on fruit, making those endless unmade beds, dealing with grumpy short people, and snapping a million photos. A girl has got to get her fun somewhere!
One very fun part of my job is jump on a bus with musicians and taste a small slice of their life on the road. I will always have fond memories of being on the road with these two. Muddy hills, dust storms and delicious funnel cakes. Thanks Kellylynn Janson and Chris Janson!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
When the girls come home with the "bring in a photo" assignment, I'm toast. What the teachers don't realize is that I have thousands of photographs of the girls' childhood. Yesterday the photo request came on a particularly horrible day. My dad had a heart attack, and I couldn't keep the world from spinning or the tears from falling. I can't keep my babies from getting older. I can't keep my parents from getting older. The tears made my screen blurry as I searched for the photo, and yet they made something else very clear to me. My passion for photography is driven by the fact that for one two hundred and fiftieth of a second, I CAN make the world stop. I stop the world so that I remember all of life's details. I remember pink tights, round tummies, giggles, stamps on hands, undies hanging out, and crooked eyebrows checking themselves out in the mirror. I know one day my daughter will understand my tears when she remembers this day. Until then, I will continue to stop the world from spinning one photograph at a time.
As I cleaned the house this morning with the music from Downton Abbey playing in the background, it was hard not to compare life in my log cabin to life in that glorious castle. I play the role of Lady Edith splendidly (in addition to the role of dressing assistant, gardner, butler, social engagement coordinator, floor scrubber, chauffer, tea fetcher, mail poster, launderer, silver polisher, and animal caretaker). Bert plays the role of Earl rather well (in addition to the role of cook). It was at the moment that I tried to imagine the Earl of Grantham cooking in Ms. Patmore's kitchen that I suddenly became very tired and changed the music (and sat down for a cup of tea).
Thursday, January 03, 2013
I have taken many photos over the years that captured a look, an expression, a moment in time. Recently, I opened this shot of my youngest and was immediately carried back to the moment that my kids decided to stop listening to me. They figured out that maybe everything I said was not always right. All of those years of listening were down the drain with the discovery that maybe, just maybe, they could have an opinion of their own. The power to "just not listen" was discovered. If they closed their eyes and didn't face me, it was as though I had magically disappeared into thin air. They were left in a world of bliss, while I was left in a world where my dialogue had magically morphed into something that sounded much like Charlie Brown's teacher. In this shot, "It's time to come in, Maddy" translated nicely into "Wah Wah, Wah Wah, Wah Wah Wah Waaaah".