Story People

I am a BIG fan of an artist from Iowa whose company is called Story People. Brian's drawings look like brightly colored squiggles but are always accompanied by a "story" that he writes (or, very occasionally, people suggest to him). I subscribe to the "story of the day" email, and each morning I receive this little gem. More times than not it turns out to be my daily meditation and helps me focus. I'm having trouble embedding the link in this page, so I added it to my Favorites over there to the right of the screen. Take some time to play on this site. They make GREAT gifts, too!

Today's story is called "Waiting for Signs". The caption reads: I used to wait for a sign, she said, before I did anything. Then one night I had a dream & an angel in black tights came to me & said, you can start any time now, & then I asked is this a sign? & the angel started laughing & I woke up. Now, I think the whole world is filled with signs, but if there's no laughter, I know they're not for me.

This could sum up my current philosophy of life, work, family, friends, yada yada yada (I LOVE that Seinfeld episode, by the way). It's ironic, though, as I've been asking myself over the past few weeks what I need to do in terms of making photography my full-time career. Still milling over that one... While I'd like to say "hey, that's easy, follow your passion and the money will come..." Then I think of two kids, one approaching college age, and a mortgage, and I slowly come back to reality, often kicking and screaming. It'll happen. But with all this angst comes a colorful little reminder to "keep it real" each morning. (A nod to my friend Vince who told me that "keepin it real" is a standard response to ANY question, depending on what type of inflection you use in your voice...and it WORKS!)

Editing a last-minute shoot from yesterday afternoon, doing a senior photo shoot later today, finishing up work for the corporate America gods, then it's off to camping and trying out (but hopefully not capsizing) the new canoe Andy surprised us with the other night. I need a little break from my brain so I'm looking forward to it. And it forces me to stop working for a couple days as the laptop battery will only last so long in the wilderness. My challenge is to LEAVE IT HOME.

Thanks to people who have provided kind words and encouragement this week, especially two people from my high school that I've reconnected with on (of all places) Facebook. We didn't hang out much in high school, and now getting to know them via cyberspace, I really wish I had. So thanks, Stephanie and Andrew...you've made my week and my stomach hurts TOO much from laughing at all Andrew's emails outlining the challenges of photographing people for a living. TOOOO funny!

Have a great weekend!
Maureen