My beacon.

I keep a picture of you on my desk. The one where you are playfully kissing the bronze statue of a banjo player in front of the cultural arts center in Asheville, NC.

Whenever I start to loose focus, or wonder why I’m doing what I’m doing, I look down there and I see you, happy, and it all comes back to me.

It’s for you, for our girls, and for our life together.

I remember that trip very well. We took a week off and drove down to Asheville in my truck, as uncomfortable and cramped as it was…we did it.

We stayed in some shady hotels along the way. One of them we took all of the sheets OFF the bed and used our sleeping bags on top of the bed – using dirty T-shirts as pillow cases, because the sheets were THAT dirty.

We took a “Haunted Asheville” tour one night, camped in Pisgah National Park one night - even though you didn’t want to, drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway, floated down the French Broad river in a canoe, and spent a day going through the Biltmore Estate.

I remember it all like it was yesterday. The time we spent together – getting on each others nerves sometimes, but loving every minute of it.

Over the years I’ve added pictures – another of you – this time holding our babies, and of course, some of the babies. Our lives have changed so much since that picture of you in Asheville, but my love for you has not. It still remains strong.

And even though I loose sight of it all sometimes, sometimes I get frustrated, sometimes I get selfish, and lord knows I’m moody…I love you for sticking by me. If I ever forget that, all I have to do is look down at your picture, see your smiling face, remember the time we’ve spent together and the many years we have in front of us.

You’re my beacon in the storm.

My sunshine on a foggy morning.

My wife.

Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you.

Snow

The next time it’s snowing, and you get a chance, go outside and lay down on your back.

Look up.

What do you see?

Little angels drifting slowly to earth?

Pixies?

Puffs of cotton candy bites swaying with the breeze…falling toward you with all of the grace and beauty of a ballerina until they land on your face.

It’s cold for a second…then just wet.

It’s like a kiss on the cheek – it lingers for just a second.

And then it’s gone.

You Gotta'

Finish your photo course before August.

Get the house on the market.

Re-design your website and get more photo gigs.

Get outside and get some fresh air.

Stay motivated at work.

Take care of your family.

Create.

Breathe.

My god, it's been a long time.

I was sitting here, watching the girls sleep and looking out the window just now. It's a balmy 14 degrees, and snowing. The sun peeks through the haze now and then, and just as soon as it shows its face, it's gone again.

I started to think about this blog, and how long I've neglected it. I don't really have a good excuse for it...other than being busy with the girls and getting our house ready to sell. We have a lot of junk to move into storage, and I have a few little projects that I need to work on to make it up to par.

And of course, as soon as I sit down to write this, one of the babies starts to scream. So I'm off again. Another incomplete thought that has become my life.