Friday.
Edition 15.
They say time waits for no one.
And I would say they are right.
Friday seems to roll around faster and faster as the school year winds down for my children and as I approach my departure date for my trip to Scotland with my mother and aunt.
While my week, on the whole, wasn’t as intense as last week, it still had plenty of ups and downs.
Prom.
The oldest had Prom on Saturday night. That day I had to take the girlie to a soccer game in Charlottesville. I walked in the door 5 minutes before he had to leave to pick up his date. He told me that parents were taking pictures in front of the prom location, The Hotel Roanoke.
The hubby and I headed that way to have a chance to snap some photos. We arrived before him, but I had no idea where the group was taking photos.
Long story short, I was not where his friends were taking photos and by the time I threaded my way around the building, the large group had dispersed. The group began taking couple photos.
It was windy. He wore his hair down. My photos are not usable.
And I left on the verge of tears with only the pictures I grabbed while he tried his tux on a few nights before.
Long Exposure Photography.
I moped around a bit and then decided to sit by the creek still filled with water. There is something about rushing water, whether it be a creek, stream, river, or ocean that just soothes my soul. I decided to practice one of my favorite types of photography – long exposure. I shared a few over the week on Instagram.
Sitting there listening to the music of the water as it played across the rocks, my soul gradually found peace.
He had a lot of fun at Prom. And in the end, the day was really about him, not what photos I was able to take to preserve my memories.
Mother’s Day.
I spent Mother’s Day in Blacksburg cheering from the sidelines for the girlie’s soccer game.
But not before I was presented with tulip bulbs and chocolate from the hubby and kiddos.
The girlie also made me a clay sculpture of a camera.
It felt wonderful to feel known so well.
Tulips…Chocolate…Cameras…
These are a few of my favorite things (cue The Sound of Music).
This week my grandfather had a stroke (he is recovering and heading to rehab) and my close friend lost her father. It really made me want to be sure to cherish the relationships I deem so important.
Harry Potter.
I knew that I wanted to spend some quality time with the girlie after the loss of our dog, so we decided to watch the Harry Potter series.
Because… I’ve never watched them.
What?!
I saw some pieces of the earlier ones, but you are lost if you don’t follow the storyline. So I stopped trying and figured I’d watch them all in a row at some point in the future. That time has come. We are halfway through the third movie.
New Camera.
One of my big faves this week is that I finally decided on a camera and it came in on Wednesday!
I went with the Sony Alpha 7 II, which is a mirrorless camera. I bought it with the 28-70mm lens. However, I do plan to add more lenses, but I will not be doing that before my trip to Scotland. I would say that it is the same size as my Nikon D3200 and perhaps slightly heavier. However, it is a full frame camera and I suspect smaller and lighter than my second choice of a Nikon D810, which is still a camera I might want to add someday (if you want to see what that beauty can do, you should check out Deborah at Circadianreflections because she just added it to her gear).
Camera Bag.
At the same time, I also ordered the Lowepro Flipside 300 camera backpack. The layout is inserted by velcro and can be rearranged. I have not tried it out, but am hoping that I can put enough other things inside for it to be my carry-on to Scotland. What I liked best about it was that the zipper is on the back side so there is not a need for concern that somebody may open your pack as they pass by you.
I am planning to get out this weekend to really test out the camera. This was the very first photo that I took with it. A flower blooming in my backyard. My friend and I think it’s a peony.
Any flower experts know for sure?
I did not do any editing to this photo. I am still figuring out the controls so I have not moved off of auto yet. The photo settings were: 41mm | f/4.5 | ISO 250 @ 1/60.
Music.
As always, I offer a song this week. This one is chosen because as the news has shared Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave has committed suicide. Metal is not my preferred genre, but I was familiar with Soundgarden in the ’90s, with this song being in the Top 40. It came out right as I was graduating from high school. I was 16 and had no clue about where my future might lead.
I have shared on this blog in the past that I have had periods of time when all was not right in my inside world. At various points in my past, I have chosen medication. My worst despair happened with leaving Florida for Virginia. The waves engulfed me. I felt alone and overwhelmed. I did not want to commit suicide, but there were moments when I thought I might not want to live if every day for the rest of my life were going to feel like this. Moments when I thought that I’d rather God call me home than have day after day of this feeling. The thought of people I loved being sad if he chose to do that was what made me not wish to hard for it.
But I had a concerned husband who opened the blinds every day for the sun to pour in, who kept after me to go to the gym, go for a walk, go see a doctor, but do something. I decided that this time I would spend time in nature and exercise and eat differently before I went down the medication path. And that plus time worked for me. This is absolutely NOT the answer for everyone. I am not a doctor. Medicine is the BEST choice for many people.
But whatever you do, don’t sit in despair. Find help. Talk to a professional. If you know somebody who needs help, do your best to help them get it. In the United States, the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. A Google search shows that there are numbers in other countries as well.
I’m glad that as a world we are beginning to reduce the stigma associated with issues relating to mental health, but there is still a long way to go.
Today, a family sits alone without a person they love. In the U.S. alone, there are an average of 94 completed suicides EVERY day (based on statistics found at the Emory University website).
This is 94 too many.
I hope that as you go into the weekend and meet people along the way that you offer kind words and smiles. That could be all that it takes to change a person’s day. Yes, some issues go deeper, but when hasn’t kindness made the world a little brighter.
Let your light shine!
Amy
Wonderful post, Amy.
I’m going to stick to the lighter bits, but please know, I feel strongly and compassionately about the darker.
That camera case looks like a carseat for a camera and its kip! 🙂
Hopefully some of the other moms have some pictures they can share?
I had no idea what long exposure was, but I do believe your photos taught me!
Thanks Joey.
The camera case opening that way makes it look hilarious. I’m not sure it’s going to be the best option for me, but I do think it’s layout is good for some circumstances.
My son is supposed to round me up some photos. I only know some of the parents in passing. Getting a teenager to follow through takes time though. lol.
I did not know it was called long exposure or how to achieve it when I first came across photos of water captured that way. Thank goodness for Google and Youtube! 🙂
So sorry to hear your friend lost her father and our thoughts are with all the family and friends. I hope your father is receiving the care he needs after his stroke and we send love and blessings your way 💜
Thank you very much! My Papa is my grandfather. It didn’t occur to me at the time that in some places this is used as a term for father. 🙂 He is going to a very good rehab center and they feel that he will make a good recovery. Thank you so much for the love and blessings! xo
That is wonderful news Amy! Yes, ‘Papa’ means ‘father’ in Dutch, as well as in a few other languages ;o) xxx
So sorry to hear about your friends loss and your papa’s illness and hope he recovers quickly. Thank you for sharing about the struggles you have had, I know it is not always the easiest thing to share, you are so brave. I was really saddened by Chris Cornell’s passing. I was always into the grunge scene and still am a fan – I would stay stuck in the 90’s music genre if I could. It seems like so many of my childhood music heroes have been taken too soon in tragic ways, so to hear of his passing, especially later in life when things ‘seemed’ to be stable for him is devastating. You just never know what someone is struggling with, so important for all of us who have struggled are able to keep talking and helping people to understand a bit more about it.
Thank you Dee. I think it’s so important to keep the dialogue open so that those who are struggling know that they are not alone. 🙂