Seeing Things

Today marked the end of “summer” break for all the kids – the first day back to school. Tiny legs scampered below their navy and baby blue uniforms. It reminded me of my many ‘first days of school’ – the nervousness, the excitement, the electricity of what is the start of the next few months.

I walked for two hours this morning to attempt to get in a little bit of shape to hike the mountain this weekend. Most people do it in two days. Maria and I are going to attempt the 20 miles in one, beginning around midnight on Sunday morning, expecting to get back sometime around dinner. Headlamps will be key.

As I walked up the mountain this morning, a woman’s song floated into the road. She was wearing a brown vest and a bandana of sorts, and look like a rustic version of the “We Can Do It” woman from iconic poster. She seemed to be gardening and doing some chores around the tiny farm. All sorts of bright tropical flowers surrounded her dark wooden house, creating trellises for her to move about. I didn’t startle her – she looked at me, kept on singing and smiled. She was happy. So was I.

I edited the wedding pictures for four hours earlier this week. It’s been almost two years since I really sat down and spent a chunk of time editing. It was so satisfying. I got the excited feeling I used to get in the darkroom, watching a print come to life and knowing deep down that it’s good. Feeling proud of the finished product. There were sparks yesterday, something I’m trying not to take lightly. Here are a few. More will make their way to Picassa.

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