"Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears..."

My daughter is a Senior and will graduate next May! We are going to miss her so very much. What's the opposite of a hyperbole as that's what that sentence is. My emotions are everything and everywhere. I feel happy, and excited for her, but also I feel sad when I remember she will be leaving for college next year. She is planning to major in Piano Performance, and this week, she received her first college acceptance. She was so thrilled, and we are too, and we are so incredibly proud of her. 


If you love old musicals as much as I do, then you will know that this song - "Sunrise, Sunset" is from Fidler on the Roof, and it reminded me of my daughter because it honors the unique and remarkable love of a parent. It also reminds me of my mom and dad, who both loved musicals and this one, Doctor Zhivago, and The Sound of Music were their favorites. I could name many more. I just listened to "Sunrise, Sunset" again, and it made me cry, not because I feel sad today but because my daughter's future is just beginning, and I can't wait to see the amazing things she will do.​

*I took these pictures this May with my new Canon. 

It was actually a Saturday and I was really hoping for the thunderstorm we had been promised. I was so excited to take some photographs of lightening but "You can't always get what you want, You'll get what you need". 
​

​The petals feel like playdoh squeezing with our fingers.
Lemonade streaks shine through the scattered clouds
And we drink in its warm rays.

​Lying down as the sun sets our eyes are closed 
The golden light glows inside our eyes.
We hold hands. 

​Happy.
​

I have never been keen on Selfies. I really don't like them. Somehow I always manage to tilt my head in a weird way and taking a selfie just feels... well rather silly, so when I read that for our next assignment we have to take a selfie I wasn't really happy about it until I realized that we have to replace ourselves with a chair or a bowl! So I became the chair and this is my 'Self-portrait'. I bought a very small chair from Michaels - about eight inches high - and I already had an idea of where I wanted to place the chair. One option was on a stage and the other was in front of the incoming tide. I decided on the latter and this morning I headed to the beach which was so very cold but the sea was foaming and looked stunning in the early morning light. There I was with my tiny chair, laying down on very cold sand trying to take a picture of 'me'. The tide rushing in is 'life' and the chair is small because I am such a tiny part of this world but even so I can make a difference no matter how small. I did get some strange looks from a couple walking their dog!

I decided to take my kids to the trail at Poplar Grove - we love spending a couple of hours getting lost along the trail and of course, I took my camera with me. It was a beautiful Spring day and my children kept finding tiny fairy homes that people had left behind. Next time we're going to make one of our own.

My daughter has the most beautiful and expressive eyes so I decided to take some close ups of her and I ended up focusing on just her eyes. I was happily surprised to find everything around her reflected in her eyes and I personally think these are some very striking photographs. I also had fun playing around with different colors. Let me know what you think...

Sometimes we just need to pause and think. That's why I decided to call this photograph Pause because sometimes we simply need to stop and reset. I took my son to school a little earlier than usual this morning because he had taken part in Science Olympiad at the weekend and the participants were taking part in a victory parade because his school had placed second overall! Typically for a Monday, I was in a rush and I decided I didn't have time to put my sneakers on and so I ran out with my flip flops! It was unexpectedly freezing this morning so it wasn't a great decision. I dropped my son off and as I parked I spotted the incredibly beautiful mist over the school pond. It seriously transformed it from its usual appearance. I grabbed my camera and ran over the extremely wet and chilly grass. I was really regretting not taking the time to grab my sneakers! But it was completely worth it. I don't know why I haven't noticed this little tree before but I really hadn't. For the first time I could actually see it. There it was all alone and behind it the mist was floating above the pond. I only had time to take five pictures. I am so glad I took the time to actually look and notice. We should all pause more often.

** Since I posted this I found out that I won an award for this photograph! Someone bought my photograph!! 

This turned out to be a very busy week even though college was closed for Spring break. My children keep me busy with their many activities and this week my son was taking part in the annual Best Foot Forward performance at the Wilson Center Downtown. All the kids were waiting their turn in one of the classrooms at the Cape Fear Community College, and I happened to have a great view of the Riverfront. I had gone along to the dress rehearsal so I could take pictures for the school yearbook, and that night we were blessed with one of the most beautiful sunsets. I kept running over to the window in between taking pictures of the children in their costumes!