30-Day Challenge

Day 09

Day 09 – A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Well, duh. Who else could it be? The love of my life. My media naranja.

Day 08

Day 08 – A picture that makes you laugh.

Okay, so really, this one has had me laughing to myself. Is it a picture of something, that makes me laugh? Or is it a picture, of something that makes me laugh?

I vote the second one.

I do a lot of grading on-line, and it’s too easy to keep a couple of tabs open to some social media sites for entertainment and breaks between essays, especially since little alert numbers pop up.

That’s where the laughter comes up. I have a Facebook friend who has a really great name for liking status updates. It’s a really great name, but I won’t take a screen shot of it because I thought about it too late to ask permission to display this person’s full name liking a status. Maybe I’ll be able to share it another time, or you could be my Facebook friend and maybe see it.

This is my second choice, but it ranks right up there. The picture represents the fun I have with social media, and getting laughs…good from-the-bottom-of-my-gut laughs when I see a clever comment or a fantastic picture.

The list of people who bring me joy is pretty long. That’s quite a blessing, isn’t it? Let’s pretend this picture represents everyone on Facebook and Twitter that makes me guffaw, giggle, laugh, titter, smile…and sometimes cry.

I have no problem sharing this picture because these folks are World Re-Known Super Celebrities and they are also my friends in RL, so I’ll give a little shout-out to the stuff they do so you can go and see their magnificence for yourselves.

Don’t they look great? I love Lisa and Steve’s smiles. And Paul? He looks like he should be in a raccoon coat holding up a college pennant and wearing a beanie.

Paul Camarata’s The SaintCast

Lisa Hendey’s Catholic Moments and CatholicMom.com

Steve Nelson’s everything esteban

Day 07

Day 07 – A picture of your most treasured item.

In 1992  our house was burglarized. Thanks to our retired neighbor who was working in the yard, he was able to call the police and scare away the burglars. We only lost our tv and stereo…and the jewelry box that John gave me for our first anniversary. In it were a number of pieces of jewelry that had a lot of sentimental value. Among them were my wedding rings.(I was about to give birth to our son and had taken them off the night before because of swelling in my hands).

I cried and cried. Eventually, I stopped crying, but I’ve never gotten over it, especially if in the right mood I happen to catch a glimpse of John’s matching band 😦

He replaced the rings because he is a darling and has offered to upgrade and change the setting, but I’ll have none of that. Not because I’m being petulant or having a tantrum about wanting my rings, but because it was one of those defining moments that changed me. I’m just not terribly attached to items since them. I’m not married because of some rings…the burglars took some gold and diamonds, not my marriage.

I’m not very materialistic. Don’t think I’m being all ascetic and stuff. I like pretty things and have plenty of stuff, and like my new car, and like my house, and like the things in it. I’m just talking about having an inordinate connection to stuff. I just don’t. I’ve driven cars that were just tools for transportation, lived in comfortable homes that were not showrooms, worn clothes for fit and comfort instead of style. I do admit to owning too many books, so maybe that’s it. But no, a flood in the basement wiped out hundreds of them (they were in boxes — fail) and I tend to lend books, which amounts to giving them away, so I never give anyone a book that I actually expect back 🙂 So, nothing there.

I’m contemplating what I would grab if the house were on fire. My initial thought is nothing — get my family out. I actually took a walk around looking at stuff. When I settled in the living room, I saw the charcoal drawing of the three kids that hangs above the fireplace, and I thought, well…I can’t reduce my kids to an item…but in that item is captured that which I do value, and that is my family.

Aren’t they cutie pies?

Day 06

Day 06 – A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.

Good grief! Unless I can do this with a fictional character, I ain’t playing. At first I thought, there’s really no one I’d like to trade places with…I really tried. It’s not that I want to be difficult, but I’m just not foolish enough to somehow buy into the grass being greener on the other side. Then I thought, well, it can be interpreted in a different way, like an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes.

I thought about that for a little while, too. No. Nope. My shoes are not only comfortable, but in the difficult places where they were hard to break in and caused some blisters and callouses, well, it was painful and uncomfortable, but I’ve adapted.

Have you ever worn someone else’s shoes? Their footprint are in the shoes. Not only does it fit awkwardly, but it could cause blisters in different places. I’m not up for that, so I pass.

Plus, it gives me the opportunity to play in outer space. Yes, I want to be Lt. Uhura from Star Trek:

Day 05

Day 05 – A picture of your favorite memory.

Well. Now that’s a tough call. How to capture a picture of my favorite memory…there are many, of course. I played a video of my life in my head while thinking about it, and for a brief moment thought the best picture would be the cheesy grin on my face while I settled into my favorite chair and thought about it.

I have many wonderful memories from my childhood from running around the neighborhood playing hide and seek, to riding bikes to the pool, to carefree summer nights sitting on car hoods and looking at the stars. Family outings and picnics and special events with my family are the foundation of who I am.  All of those merit a place in my hall of fame of memories.

Of course, the second half of my life (and more if I really do the math) has been filled with warm family memories…my husband, our kids, the nieces and nephews and godchildren and all their amazing and wonderful milestones deserve their place as my favorite memory, too.

So, too, the friends I’ve had over the years. Those who have been near me forever, and those who come in and out for a season, but still leave their mark.

Choosing one, then, has been a difficult process, but I did it. It’s a picture of roses. When we were first married and living in Germany, away from family and friends and everything that we knew, John was in the habit of going to the train station to pick up the newspaper very early on Sunday mornings. I’d make coffee while he was gone, and more often than not, he’d show up with the paper, some pastries, and flowers for me.

Those were care-free times. They were pure as the snow in the picture, and lovely and romantic like the swans. Oh, we thought we were struggling…we didn’t have very much money or a fancy house, and his car was held together with bondo and spit, but we were happy in the simple things that filled our days. We had each other, and that was enough.

click to make bigger

Day 04

Day 04 – A picture of your night.

Oh. It said night, not knight.

Well, so there’s my night. Once again, a highly interpretive little thing, “a picture of your night.” I tend to like to sleep at night. Thus, a picture of the inside of my eyelids. But you know, part of sleeping is dreaming, so I thought I’d share something else. I dream in color. Not always, but when I do it’s pretty cool. And it looks like the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. Without the goats.

I really love the colors that Chagall uses, only, the floating goats are a little too much. In all fairness, though, this is actually my favorite Chagall painting:

It’s called Self-Portrait with Muse and I fell in love with it when I first saw it almost 30 years ago. In fact, I had been rather tepid about the Chagall museum until I saw this painting up close and contemplated the origins of inspiration. I explain it a little here, and am reminded of another painting, too. Many years later I  would go full circle and encounter a very different painting, this one by Rembrandt, St. Matthew and the Angel, and I suppose, with my refined (read that older and mature) sensibilities, found it moving, more so than when I first saw the Chagall. I was drawn to this Rembrandt painting at a traveling Louvre exhibit in Atlanta, and circled back to it several times, drawn to the Angel.

Years passed between the time I saw the Rembrandt painting and I thought about writing again. Something remarkable happened and I started making a connection between my own writing and the Divine source of that inspiration. It wasn’t a cascade or domino effect, but a gradual awakening, guided a little by a mortal muse, but a muse nonetheless.

By the way, the real picture of my night, in case you missed it, is a little trip into my head…

 

Day 02

Day 02 – A picture of you and the person you have been close with for awhile.

What? Define “for a while.” Is that 32 years? Like with my hubby?

Does it mean bestie? Yes? We’ll go with that, at about 12 years.

Day 01

Day 01 – A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

1. I like yellow roses (and any other little yellow flowers, even dandelions).

2. I am a NAUI certified diver.

3. I’m the oldest child and oldest cousin, but most of my friends tend to be older than me.

4. My favorite part of going to the beach is digging my feet in the sand at the water’s edge.

5. I write poetry on scraps of paper.

6. I am super near-sighted.

7. I once shot 100 free throws in a row. All. Net.

8. I like to dance.

9. I like loud music.

10. Sometimes, when I’m cleaning, I listen to loud music AND dance.

11. If I start reading a book and I don’t like it, I feel compelled to finish it.

12. Unlike books, I can totally walk away from a movie, even in the middle of the climax or resolution.

13. Red wine gives me headaches. Mostly cabs. I’ve taken to drinking tempranillos and chardonnay.

14. I would go into space if NASA took middle-aged, out of shape, curiosity-seeking neurotic women.

15. I am undone by spontaneous acts of affection.

yet another meme?

Sheesh. You’d think I could come up with my own clever bloggy things. Only…I kinda thought this was interesting…it’s the 30 Day challenge. Let’s hope I don’t run out of steam before I start it tomorrow 🙂

Day 01 – A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
Day 02 – A picture of you and the person you have been close with for awhile.
Day 03 – A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 – A picture of your night.
Day 05 – A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 – A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 – A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 – A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 – A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 – A picture of the person you do the silliest things with.
Day 11 – A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 – A picture of something you love.
Day 13 – A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 – A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 – A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 – A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 – A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 – A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 – A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 – A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.
Day 21 – A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 – A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 – A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 – A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 – A picture of your day.
Day 26 – A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 – A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 – A picture of something you’re afraid of.
Day 29 – A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 – A picture of someone you miss.