Month: October 2014

childhood, play, toys

Facing Pinterest guilt

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“No work or love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” – Alan Watts I often remind myself that I can do anything (well, pretty much anything), but not everything. This mantra comes in handy when I start to worry about all those things parents worry about. Is my son getting all the nutrients he needs in his diet? I should make more homemade meals and snacks for him. Is he stimulated appropriately at playtime? I should build him a sensory table and work in more Montessori practices. Is that Meghan Trainor he’s dancing to? I should play more classical music. This internal dialogue could go on and on. In fact, I’m sure that if my son were eating homemade carrot chips while playing at his sensory table and listening to Bach, I would just think of something else I could do.  And if I’m really honest, I would say something else …

Weekly Photo Challenge: Cover Art

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“Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.” ― Judith Thurman Although I think this quote speaks more to a fear of missing out, I can relate to the sentiment.  I think most people probably spent a lot of time as adolescents pondering life and their place in it.  I remember hanging out in the woods alone near my house doing just that.  I’m no writer and countless others can and do articulate this idea much better than I, but there’s nothing quite like that period in life when there’s such promise, anxiety, mystery, and fantasy all at once.  Things can be heavy one second and magical the next. I chose this image in representation of this sentiment.  I find the light and color uplifting and the sky reminiscent of being young and a dreamer.  Life at any stage can be confusing or chaotic, but perhaps we’re all capable of stopping to appreciate the simple pleasure of a pretty leaf on a beautiful …

First memories

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“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard One of the first stories I remember my husband telling me when we first met was how, as a baby, he was incredibly frustrated that he couldn’t reach the mobile above his crib.  His memory is unusually long, at least compared to mine, and that’s just one example.  Fast forward a few years (despite my husband’s vow not to subject his children to similar frustration), our son has a mobile.  Although perhaps in solidarity with his father, he’s never really taken to it. When my husband recounts an early childhood memory (which is rather frequent), I often wonder what our son’s earliest memories will be.  If he takes after me, he likely won’t remember anything from now at 14 months.  But I do like to imagine he’ll have some inklings from his time as a toddler.  Warm and fuzzy feelings, I hope.  Maybe snippets of early autumn days like this, when the weather is still warm enough to enjoy the first leaves that fall. …

365 project inspiration

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“Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.  Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson Sometimes I find myself staring at the clock as bedtime approaches trying to figure out an interesting daily shot for my 365 project.  Sometimes this means taking a picture of said clock. Some days, I think ahead and have a shot in mind. And some days I just get lucky and come across a shot after a little patience. There are lots of days in a year and some shots are bound to be more interesting than others.  I needed a bit of inspiration this week and I was so glad to come across this post from the New York Times photography blog LENS featuring the Times Magazine photography director Kathy Ryan’s “office romance” shots from her camera phone at the Times building.  Her shots are simple and compelling and a reminder to look for beauty in simplicity and that you don’t need a fancy camera to take beautiful photos. As the weather gets cooler, …

Capturing details

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“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” – Cesare Pavese I’ve just finished the monumental task of going through a year’s worth of photos of my son to create photo books for his grandparents. Next year, I hope I’ll have been more organized, so I don’t have to do it all at once.  Two months into his second year, I still haven’t done much organizing, but I still have hope.  🙂 It was fun to relive the first year and remember early moments that have been lost in a fog of sleep deprivation and everyday moments along the way that got tucked away for other tasks at hand. I’m especially fond of shots from the early days just after we brought him home.  His feet were still wrinkly and folded in the way that newborns’ feet are. His hands made tiny fists and his thumb was almost always nestled between his first two fingers. And he slept.  So much.  Anywhere and everywhere. Having these visual reminders inspired me to continue capturing the details that are present in our …

Daydreaming

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“Do you remember when we first met? I sure do. It was some time in early September You were lazy about it, you made me wait around I was so crazy about you I didn’t mind.” -“Do You Remember” Jack Johnson I love fall, but unlike the promise of spring when there are months of green trees and flowers to look forward to, I can’t help but feel a bit of dismay that once the leaves fall, things will be cold and barren for a time.  So today as I watched more leaves begin to change, I put on some Jack Johnson and daydreamed about the beach.  It didn’t hurt that my husband and I recently celebrated our anniversary and this time three years ago were honeymooning on a beach.  Warm thoughts to tide me over. 🙂