Cricket’s Thoughts

Unless you don’t mind pictures of her back, trying to get pictures of Haley during the holidays requires a lot of patience.

There are simply far too many things to do that are much more important, like opening presents and eating chocolate.

If ya zoom in real close and call her name to try to surprise her, you will be rewarded with a close up picture of the back of her head.

Okay, I admit, I may have pulled that trick a few too many times already. She doesn’t fall for it anymore.

After dozens of shots that all ended up being variations of the back of her head, I decided to walk around outside for a bit . . .

Just about the time that I had resigned myself to talking pictures of old birdhouses and any other rustic scenes I could find, Haley decided to wander outside to see what her Mama was doing.

Okay Mama. You can take my picture on one condition. Elvis has to be in the picture. Elvis? (Ya mean that scraggly dust mop mutt of an excuse for a dog adorable fluffy dog that’s running around here?)

Yeah, that one. Isn’t he adorable Mama?

(Uh huh, this picture is definitely gonna be in black and white if ya want me to make that mutt, ummm, I mean that cute lil dog to look adorable. Oh for crying out loud. Fine, I will show it in full living color too.)

But, I am warning ya. He is a whole lot cuter in black and white.

(To Johnny and Toni Holloway: Thank you for making the holidays so special for us. The Christmas Eve party was wonderful as always. No, I don’t really think your dog is a scraggly dust mop mutt of an excuse for a dog. Honest, I don’t. Seriously! Dang it! Why doesn’t anyone believe me?)

I have been tagged by Michael Kane. (Thanks Mikey!)

How is it that I always get suckered into these games? I think it is that fear that I will be the one person to break the chain and something horrible will happen to me, like bad luck for seven years or sumfin. 😉

Okay, here are my five rules.

1. Follow your heart.
2. Don’t forget to laugh often.
3. Never do anything halfway.
4. Love with your whole heart.
5. Stand up for what you believe in.

S.R. Emerson of Web Page Mistakes, you have been tagged!
(I know ya love me Susan!)

You wake up thinking about him, and wonder if he does the same. Does he feel the magic too? Is it possible? Can the heavens have decided that it is time to fix the horrible wrongs and mend the broken lives? Does it scare him as much as it scares you? In that moment, you feel hope like you have never felt before, hope for a new beginning.

Then the black clouds of doubt creep into your thoughts, leaving you hoping and praying that God isn’t playing some cruel trick on you, allowing you to dream the impossible, before snatching it all away again. In that moment, you feel fear, like you have never felt before, fear that something could be so close, yet still so far.

His soft smile is once again in front of you, his eyes and gentle words promising that everything will be alright. In that moment, you begin to believe, like you have never believed before.

“You can pour your soul out singin’ a song you believe in, that tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang. Sing it anyway, yeah sing it anyway.”
(Martina McBride – Anyway)

You know I tried so hard to harden my heart, to protect myself from the world, from ever hurting again. This last week or so though, I have begun to realize that no matter how hard I try, that just isn’t who I am. It never will be. I am not sure that I would even want it to be.

Nor is it the life I would want for my daughter.

I want for us to be able to hear the music again.

I may pick myself back up, only to get knocked right back down, but that’s okay. Life is just way too short not to do everything in our power to love, to laugh, and to enjoy every moment in our lives.

Sometimes we don’t need to understand everything that happens.

Sometimes, it just is . . .

“I ain’t settling for just getting by. I’ve had enough so so for the rest of my life. Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high. Just enough ain’t enough this time. I ain’t settling for anything less than everything.” Settlin’ Sugarland

If there ever is a next time, I want romance…

Nope, I don’t mean dozens of roses. Heck, one red rose, or a handful of wildflowers he picked in the woods would make my heart melt.

Nope, I don’t mean fancy cards, leaving me a flirtatious note (or even that he is thinking about me) on my pillow would make me feel like the luckiest woman alive.

Nope, he doesn’t have to read eloquent poetry to me. Telling me he is sure glad I am in his life would definitely make me want to cook him a special home cooked meal though.

Nope, he doesn’t need to take me out on fancy dates, or spend a lot of money. Taking me for long walks (and holding my hand) or goofing off like kids at the playground will get me wanting him to hang around me for an awfully long time.

I decided to force myself to take the camera out and take some pictures. The results were absolutely disastrous.

A few months ago, I could only see beauty around me. It did not matter what the scene was, I could find the beauty in it.

Today, was exactly the opposite.

I went to the park because it has always been a place that brought me comfort. No matter which direction you look, beauty surrounds you.

What did I see?

I saw the American flag flying proudly against a nasty gray sky. My camera focused in on just one thing, the fact that the flag is old and worn around the edges.

Okay, maybe I need to find a place in town that holds no emotions for me and just start shooting pictures.

I found an area that is a photographer’s dream, a place with the potential for any number of stunning photos.

Did I focus on the beauty?

Nope, I found the one corner of ugliness.

But that’s okay. I am a photographer so I can do something to save this photo right? What if I crop it and take the faded colors away?

Maybe I can give it some character, right?

Yeah, right. What I ended up with was an ugly picture with character.

This picture looks so sad to me. At some point, someone many years ago decided to invest in new gas pumps for their little business.

I bet they were so proud that day. But now, nothing is left but the tattered remains of what was once someone’s dream.