Last night, we enjoyed pizza and chatter at Dave and Lynette Cooper's house along with Janiece and Jerry. We were amazed that 8 kids of such varied ages (2-13 yrs) could get along so well in one tiny bedroom for the bulk of the evening. I left my camera at home, but my kids had taken our smaller one that we allow them to use. And use it, they did. When we got home, I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpse of "their" portion of the evening.
I see her every day but she is not as recognizable to me as she once was. Her face has filled out over the years. A few wrinkles crease her brow and her eyes. Her hair has taken on an added dimension of white strands. Her dimples don’t show as much as they used to and her eyes rarely have that youthful sparkle anymore. Maybe it’s because when I see her, she is being critical; searching too hard for the girl that once was. Maybe it’s because she’s had a restless night. Or maybe she is in a hurry and doesn’t have time to really look.
But once in a while she does make an appearance, if just for a moment; a fleeting second. Those moments are getting fewer and farther between. But I saw her the other day. I actually didn’t realize that she had been there until I downloaded the pictures from my birthday party. It surprised me! There she was looking into my camera in the mirror…so youthful. So much like the girl she used to be.
I miss her.
I bet you were expecting a Christmas post from me today, huh? Well, it ain't happenin'. I am in no man's land (northern Michigan) and internet access is sloooooooowww up this way. So since I've been bantering with my in-laws all day (a good kind of fun :), here's a post I'd already had in queue:
It was the evening of Thanksgiving. Tony was lounging on the couch, I was sitting on the floor in front of the couch and my mother-in-law was across from us doing something with her cell phone (probably answering a call from her eldest who was in the same room.) I guess you might conclude that we were bored. But we weren't. Just relaxed and having some down-time. Of course, my camera was in my hand (is it ever anywhere else?) so I was passing the time by taking some portraits of me and my beloved. I finally had one that I thought turned out really neat. My mother-in-law dared to disagree. Upon viewing my masterpiece, she vehemently proclaimed, "This would drive me nuts! I could never decide which way it should be turned." So in honor of my mother-in-law, I present to you, Betty's Fury.
I should mention that my mother-in-law and I get along famously. She did not mean this in a rude way at all. We all had a good laugh over it and in fact, my father-in-law spoke almost the same exact words when he saw the picture later.
