a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

“I sustain myself with the love of family.”    ― Maya Angelou

This weekend we drove almost 1000 miles to get our family together.

First stop - Rochester, NY

Annie began her musical journey at the Eastman School of Music five weeks ago.

She has faced so many challenges since we've seen her last.

She has conquered many fears and insecurities too.

We met Annie on Friday outside her dorm on her way back from class.

Greeting us with a big smile and big hug, I couldn't help but think it doesn't get any better than this.

This is what parenting is all about. 

  

At lunch, we met some of her new friends.  Sabrina...

CJ and Drew...

and Khanh.

She was excited to show us around a little now that the school has become her home.

We went back to her dorm to get her things to pack them in the car for the next leg of our journey - Burlington.

Her bulletin boards in her room were covered with photographs of people from her past.

After driving though many backroads of New York

we finally crossed Lake Champlain on the bridge at Crown Point into Vermont.

When we got to Burlington,  Kerry and Adam were waiting for us at his apartment.

It was late, but we chatted for a while before heading to the hotel for some sleep.

We stayed at the new Hotel Vermont on Cherry Street.  It was amazing!

Annie slept on a trundle bed on the floor.  She commented the next morning how nice it was to sleep close the the ground after sleeping in a lofted bed near the ceiling for the past 5 weeks!

Adam met us for a trip to the farmers market.

Then he played in the leaves with his sister!

Then we drove to Williston to watch Kerry play softball.

UVM had 3 games against UConn.  They didn't win, but it didn't matter.

After the games, we went out to dinner and then to our favorite place - Burlington Bay - for creemees!

This morning we ate breakfast together at the Skinny Pancake before heading back to Connecticut with Annie.

I will be driving her back to Rochester on Tuesday to end her fall break.

If you add those miles, we will have driven well over the thousand mark.

But it is soooo worth it!

The Most Beautiful Day

I had my yearly mammogram last week.  I'd forgotten all about it until two days ago.  I came home from walking the dogs on a beautiful fall day to find the light blinking on my answering machine.  I pressed play.

The message was for me.  It was the mammography specialist at Jefferson Radiology.  Would I please call her back?

Intellectually, I knew it was stupid to panic.  But my brain was going to places that weren't calm and reasonable.  I tried calling her back but got her answering machine.  As instructed, I left my cell phone number so she could reach me wherever I was.  Five hours later when I finally talked with her in person, she just told me that something in the films looked different than last year and they needed more views to determine what it was.

The first appointment I could get was two days away.

My mind was all over the place.  Growing up, breast cancer was a pretty dismal diagnosis.  I know there is a world of difference in breast cancer treatments today.  Still, just the thought of any cancer at all is enough to instill fear in my heart.  My kids still need me.  My husband. My sister.  My grandchildren would never know me.  I'm glad I take so many pictures.  I'm glad I write this blog.

Have you ever heard about someone you know being diagnosed with cancer and you feel horrible for them, but you also feel a little bit of relief because you think your odds of getting cancer have just gone down?  Then you feel guilty for even thinking that thought?  I have, and I'm not proud of it.

Other thoughts were of my parents.  I considered how the end of life isn't quite as scary as it used to be because I believe I will see them again someday.

Then I considered how I would face the disease process.  Would I be strong and face it with courage and optimism, doing whatever I had to do to beat the disease and enjoying life as much as possible?  Would I be able to appreciate all that I have?  Or would I wallow in self-pity?  I hope I wouldn't do that.

Next, I started cleaning the house.  I put away the 3 laundry baskets full of clean laundry that had been decorating my bedroom for the past few weeks.   I vacuumed.  I cleaned the kid's bathroom.  Kind of like the nesting instinct before you give birth, I was kind of preparing for something.

I also talked to God.

Sometime during that first day of not knowing, a sense of calm and peace came over me. It seems like I had thought through every possibility that could happen,  and I knew I could handle it. Who knows? Maybe there's a reason this was happening that I didn't know yet.  I had to trust in God. I just felt that everything was going to be ok.

I slept 9 hours last night and woke up very rested.  It was a beautiful day once again.  As I walked into the medical building I was in awe at how beautiful the trees were.  And the breeze felt so nice.  I was amazingly calm.

It was a happy ending.  With additional views, the radiologist declared everything to be normal.  YES!

The day was just as beautiful when I walked to my car to leave.  I was relieved for sure.  I was also proud of myself.  Even though it turned out to be nothing, I felt like I had faced the enemy and was stronger because of it.

And more appreciative for my life.

21 x 5

All of these girls are now 21 years old!

Julie, Parker, Kaylee, Kerry and Mel live in 4 different states, but made a point of getting together last weekend to celebrate the 21st birthdays of Mel (far right)  and Julie (far left).

 Mel and Julie have been roommates for over 3 years in college.

They just happen to share the same birthday too!

 Vance and I were delighted to be able to take them all out to dinner at Rizzuto's in West Hartford on Saturday.

Kerry turned 21 in July  (notice the eyebrow piercing is gone - yeh!)

There was good food,

tasty drinks,

and interesting conversation!

After dinner, Mel posed with a female "something"...

and Kerry was attracted to "something" else.

We walked to get something sweet for dessert.

 Mel and Julie are training to run a marathon next month, so they chose something healthy at Robeks.

Others chose a different sweet ending.

Then we sat outside on a beautiful fall evening to eat our desserts.

Happy 21st birthday, Mel and Julie!

____________________________________________________________

When we got home, Kerry and Kaylee got exciting news.  They had made a sculpture of comedian Miranda Sings out of a volleyball. They sent it to her and asked her to post a pic on Instagram.  She did!

After only 44 minutes, it had 5815 likes.

By the next night, it was increased to 12,868 likes!

Unbelievable, isn't it?

Good-bye Glenn

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might remember a post about a cute old man who made my day in Whole Foods by singing to me a year ago:

Click here to read


Today I sadly read this comment on my blog:

Hello Gayle , Awhile ago you posted about a singing old man -  my dad aka Glenn Miller - who sang Day by Day I Keep Falling inLove With You. You met us in Whole Foods grocery and he sang for you. He made your day. Sadly to say he entered into God''s kingdom last Friday the 20th of Sept. Thank so much for his moment of fame. We all enjoyed it. His obituary will be in the Journal Inquirer  Mon or Tue. this week. Thanks again. It was a lovely memory. Charlotte his daughter.


I just read his obituary.  

Glenn was a very interesting man.
  
- He was born in Vermont (something we both have in common).
- He lived for 92 years. 
- He was a direct descendant of William White who was a passenger 
  on the Mayflower! 
- He was married to his wife Celia for 66 years, who survives him.  
- He was an airplane mechanic and instructor in the Army during WWII.  
- He was also a private pilot and enjoyed flying his Cessna.  
- He enjoyed fishing and was an avid Boston Red Sox fan.
- He managed Little League teams in Windsor Locks.  
- He retired after 36 years from Pratt & Whitney.
- He was an all-around handyman and was very giving of his time.
- He was musically talented and loved to play the harmonica.
- He was an active member of his church.
- He has a son and a daughter, 4 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.
- He was a well-versed storyteller and often enchanted friends with epic tales
  of his travels in Vermont and surrounding territories.

I only met Glenn once for a few minutes, but I was impressed by his warm personality and gentle spirit.  And I could tell by the way his daughter treated him that he wasn't a burden to her.  He was well loved.

One of the most important things to teach children is to respect the elderly.  It's so easy for them to only see what they can't do anymore.  We need to teach them just how valuable they are - like a Renoir painting that becomes more priceless with each passing year.

The complete life, the perfect pattern, includes old age as well as youth and maturity. The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquillity of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.

W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM, The Summing Up

Lightening the Load

When I was trekking around NYC a few weeks ago,  I  was well-equipped with my camera and a few lenses so I could take pictures of interesting things I happened upon.

Big mistake.

1)  I felt like a target when riding the subway if I didn't have my camera hidden - which is hard to do when it's so large.

2)  I felt like I had a sign on my forehead that read "I am a tourist".

3)  When it began to rain, I had to be concerned about protecting my camera.

4)  After 5 hours, my shoulders were aching and I had to keep switching the strap from one side to the other to redistribute the load.


With plans to spend much more time in the city accompanying Vance on business trips now that we are empty nesters,  I set out in search of another way to satisfy my photographic needs.

Not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on another camera, and since I already have a decent camera on my iphone, I investigated options for my phone camera.

Photojojo.com had the answer!




Buy the Photojojo Phone Lens Series at the Photojojo Store!


For only $50, I bought 3 lenses that attach to my iphone camera magnetically -
a fisheye, wide angle/macro, and 2x telephoto.

You just need to take your iphone out the it's case and stick this magnetic ring around the camera on the backside of the phone.

Each lens has a magnetic cap over the back to protect it.

To attach the lens, just pull off the magnetic cap and put the lens onto the magnetic ring around the camera.

Each lens is extremely small, lightweight and easy to carry in your pocketbook.

I tried each lens a little this weekend.  Above is the fisheye lens.

The macro lens took this close-up of a map.

I love the wide-angle lens too!

Next time a go to the city,  I'll leave my large DSLR at home and travel lighter!

Everybody's Beautiful

Urban Dictionary definition of "teen-age girl"

The Teenage Girl is possibly the absolute stupidest, most materialistic, and shallow kind of human there is, and by definition the easiest to make money off of.

As a senior portrait photographer,  I  make my money mostly off of teen-age girls.

They put their faith in me to take pictures of them that they like.

That's a pretty tough job description, and it's not always easy. Sometimes it's impossible.

Girls today are so critical of their appearance - much more so than when I was in high school.

This was my high school yearbook picture.  I had my Dorothy Hamill haircut, my onyx earrings and a simple peach jersey top.   There were no other pictures. This was it.  It was an honest picture of what I looked like on a daily basis in high school.  I was not the class beauty queen.  I was in the nerdy group.


When someone comes to me for senior pictures,  my goal is to take honest pictures.
When they try their best to put on the smile they've practiced in the mirror at home,  I try to get the real, honest smile that their mom and dad know and love.

When girls are uptight,  my job is to relax them.
When girls are afraid,  my job is to put their minds at ease.
When girls don't think they're beautiful, my job is to show them that they are.

Back in my youth, there was a song that I loved by Ray Stevens called "Everything is Beautiful".  Released in August 1970, it took home two Grammy awards that year.  The famous lyrics center around the following words:

Everything is beautiful
In its' own way
Like a starry summer night
Or a snow covered winter's day
Everybody's beautiful
In their own way
Under God's heaven
The world's gonna find a way

I truly believe that everyone is beautiful.  I don't think I could do this job if I didn't. 

But the world today often teaches something very different.

"There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection.  To me, that is the true essence of beauty"  ~ Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You

Most teen-age girls aren't there yet.  They want to look like someone else.  

"This is a call to arms. A call to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous with yourself.  The next time you look into the mirror, try to let go of the story line that says you're too fat or too sallow, too ashy or too old, your eyes are too small or your nose is too big; just look int the mirror and see your face.  When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgement, and that is the first step toward transforming your experience of the world."    ~Oprah Winfrey

I disagree with the Urban Dictionary's definition of a teen-age girl.  While that is the face that many girls show to the world,  if you look beneath the surface they are just insecure little girls who are trying to be beautiful.  

I wish they knew they already are.

Negative Space

 Negative space. White space. Empty space. The void.

In this photograph, the negative space is what draws attention to the subject of the image.  The emptiness is just as important as the subject.

What an entirely different meaning this image would convey if there was no emptiness.

It's not easy to allow emptiness.  

We always feel like we should fill up our space, our time, our minds.

It almost seems irresponsible to waste all that space or time.

When my last child moved out of the house a few weeks ago, my first impulse was to fill up the emptiness.  I went to NYC and filled up my days with activity.  

When I came home, I thought I needed to formulate a plan for my new life.  Not a total overhaul, but I felt I needed to do something different.

After much thought,  I came to the conclusion that the emptiness is not a bad thing.

Just as in the image above,  the negative space is what allows the content to be heard.  

Why not try to go back to a time when daydreaming was a positive thing?  A time when I didn't feel guilty doing frivolous things. Not all the time, but maybe with that extra time I find I may have now. 

I practiced my new mindset today.  I could have been editing pictures or cleaning the house, but I chose to do something not so responsible.

I chose to lay outside on a blanket and enjoy the sun and the wind.

I wasn't alone for long.

White space is natural behavior for cats.  

It's not easy to allow emptiness.

But it feels really good when you do.