Last night, my sisters and I sifted through decades of my father's photos and that was just from one of his many large boxes of photographs. The experience was bittersweet. The memories and the decades of his life surrounded us. Yet how can the vitality and diversity of my father's life be depicted in something as two-dimensional as a photograph? There was so much more to the man than boxes of photographs can reveal to the world: the ups and downs of his life, the people he knew and loved, the dreams he held.
The task of presenting his life in photographs at the memorial seems daunting.
I'll be travelling to Mexico to visit my mom later this month. I feel the clock ticking away the time I have left with her, and with all I'm experiencing in mourning my father, I want to embrace the days she has left.
My house is a mess: the laundry and dishes and vacuuming and dusting have all seemed so unimportant, and the remodel work has been on hiatus. But I think my husband feels the same as I do: it's time to pick up one foot and put it in front of the other. Work and dreams and goals have all been difficult to concentrate on, but now they are welcome distractions. We're easing back into our lives, trying to figure out where we left off.
Madison Leigh encouraged me to look into a local contest. Thank you, Mad :) I'm polishing the first 7 pages of my mystery manuscript in preparation for the GSRW Emerald City Opener Contest. Even though the Emerald City Writer's Conference is in October, the deadline for the contest is only days away, so I'm brainstorming titles. The Art of Deception was only a working title - it fit the very first draft of the story. The revised version is so much better than the first draft that it deserves a more appropriate title.
So, 7 polished pages and a better title. First one foot and then the other.
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4 comments:
Exactly. One step at a time and don't sweat it when you need to sit down and cry. It happens and you need to let it.
I hope your trip to visit your mom goes as well as it can. My thoughts are with you.
cjh
J--One way I've been able to cope with influxes of personal matters is this: What will still be there when it is all over? That's what can wait. The mess will always be there. It will never go away. SO you can just leave that where it is. Your family and friends, and any living things are the things that are fleeting, so be with them. Who the heck wants to clean at a time like this? Unless a unique opportunity to bond with your family presents itself in waxing floors or something....
Wanted to tell you that I think you did an excellent job with the picture show. I think you guys picked the perfect photos to capture his life and the things that were important to him.
Remenber, be kind to yourself. It's by that you'll get through this.
Take care.
C x
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