different is good....

life is art

and

your perception of it

will always be a bit different than those around you

~

some days

it will even be drastically different

and

that's okay

~

and

when looking left

when the rest of the tour group is looking right

feels good to you

~

then

look left

and

when they all look up

look down

~

different is good

facial hair and eggs.....

what

~

i said facial hair and eggs

~

wait

did you think i was talking about myself

like in

my facial hair and eggs

{i'm totally laughing out loud about the idea of sharing that topic with you but it could happen}

~

for now you'll just have to have fun with photos from the petting zoo

~~~~~

thank you

all of you

for supporting me yesterday

you have no idea how much that means to me

*

or a field of poppies...

there's not really too much that gets me down

~

i'm kind of like a hot air balloon

drifting

shading my eyes from the sun

while

trying to catch butterflies

soaking in what i see and letting my hair get messy in the breeze

~

unfortunately

though

sometimes i land abruptly

too suddenly

too rough

and

not in the beautiful tulip filled field where i was aiming

~

instead

it's in the field next to the run down farm

filled with cows and goats and fresh manure

and

the wicker basket to my air balloon drags heavily through it

bouncing

collecting shit along the way

~

finally it comes to a halt

~

the sickly looking cows wander over

for a closer inspection

wondering what all the commotion is

and

they're frightened

by my

"it's supposed to be in the field of tulips"

basket

and

they snort and kick

and

i fall into the fetal position

and

plug my ears

and

kick my feet in a toddler type of tantrum

~

i'm not technically tethered here in this manure filled field

but

the shit is heavy

acting

like bricks

forcing me to stay grounded

~

so i hope for changes

and

pray that i can make it through the rest of his teenage years

while

making promises with god

knowing

that the only way i can fly again

is when the shit weighing my basket down

dries up and falls off

*

i don't know the whole story....

actually

i don't even know them

but

they were married on thursday

while he was home on leave from the service

and

they celebrated afterwards in the restaurant where her mom works

which happened to be the same place i was treating my mom to lunch

for mother's day

~back in my hometown~

my mom does know his grandma

~they were hospital roommates 49 years ago in the maternity ward with new babies~

so

when everyone was done eating

what else could i do

but ask if they wanted me to take their photos

~

they were so amazingly beautiful and in love

and

just sparkled when we walked down the street to a little park

~

during

the whole photo shoot

they laughed and kissed and smiled and kissed some more

~

he shipped back out yesterday

and

she'll be with him again in two months

~

congratulations

you love birds

and

thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me photograph your special day

~

your future is so incredibly bright

*

i'm still editing their photos

but

there are a few more over here that are finished

*

happy mother's day...

ps...the shadow on the egg

is in the shape of a heart

~truly by coincidence~

funny how mother nature does that

*

sometimes.....

yup

sometimes i wish i was the girl who made fresh bread

in a bread machine

~

but

if i was

then i wouldn't be the girl taking photos of her fresh bread

because

i'd have a mess to clean up

*

my daughter is taking me to see the movie "babies" this afternoon

for my mother's day gift....which means popcorn for lunch and lots of ohhhs and ahhhs.

~i can hardly wait~

maybe you're not a mom.....

or

maybe you are

or

maybe you want to be one someday

or

maybe you're an aunt who often acts like a mom

or

maybe you're a foster mom

or

at least

i know

you're a woman

a sister

a grandmother

or

a wife

perhaps

~~

whoever you are

i hope

this video

will give you all the inspiration you'll ever need

to believe in yourself

especially

on the days that you think

"are just too hard"

~~

and

to the dads out there who might be reading this

you'll be inspired

too

~~

stephanie has been my daily inspiration for over a year now

and

to not share her and her family with you

just wouldn't be right

*

happy mother's day

weekend