Each day we create a portion of our story, one that is unique to each of us. No one can create your story, only you have that power, and how you write it, is entirely up to you. Each day God gives us a clean slate, to create a portion of our story. As the days go by, the story grows, creating a lifetime of memories. It is those memories, and photographs of those memories that will one day become your legacy. We each have one, a legacy that is.

The past two months have been unprecidented, with school closures, store closures, restaurant closures, well, basically the world has shut down. When this all began, I was feeling so lost and depressed, the world was not the normal I was accustomed to. Now two months later, I have mostly adjusted to the new “normal” and oddly, I am not sure I am looking forward to going back to the way things were. Will I miss wearing a facemask when out in public, absolutely not! I believe, at least initially, I will be very hesitate to return to how I lived prior to this pandemic. I know at some point, I will begin to feel more relaxed about being out in public, but I think that will take some time.

I mention this because, although, this is part of my story, it is also part of your story. The dynamics of the pandemic are a part of the story we share, how we handle it, is very personal.

That brings me to my photography. On April 5th I wrote a blog desribing how completely sad the closures made me feel. In a “normal” world, I never would have viewed those closures the same way. I would have been excited to be able to take photographs without waiting for people to walk by, or in the quiet of the morning. It’s all how we view something, isn’t it? At that point in time, my view was very different than how I would usually view the same situation. Now I am able see that, but at the time, I was so overcome with sadness, it was difficult for me to see anything. All I could see was the lonliness and sadness of what was happening around us, how the world had changed so drascitally overnight.

I recently listened to Here and Now, (a song by Kenny Chesney), which prompted me to write this blog, let me back up to explain. About one month ago, Brian was at work and I was listening to No Shoes Radio on SiriusXM. Kenny Chesney’s Chillaxifaction Tour was supposed to begin that day. So NSR (No Shoes Radio) was playing songs from previous concerts to celebrate what should have been. The stereo was cranked up quite loud when Brian walked through the door, and for the first time, in a long time, I felt happy inside. I was singing and dancing while cooking dinner, happy in the moment, I suppose. Maybe it was the excitement of the crowd from the live songs, or just his music, I honestly don’t know. I do know that I felt happy and less anxious, which I have not felt in quite some time.

If you listen to the lyrics in that song, we really only have the present, we can’t relive yesterday and we truly don’t know about tomorrow. The situation the world is currently in makes me think about so many things. No one is sure about much except what we have now, right now. I am not being morbid, just realistic. If we lived in the moment, not in the past and didn’t put off until tomorrow things we really want to do, we might be happier, maybe less anxious?

Anyway, I am trying to be more optimistic, concentrating on what makes me happy and letting go of what doesn’t. Photography, flowers, Sunday mornings, spring and new life, and the return of the hummingbirds all bring me great joy and happiness. My family brings me the ultimate joy. Brian and I have been able to see our daughter and her family more often lately, just being around the ones we love has made a huge difference for both of us, not only me.

Live for today, cherish yesterday, tomorrow is a gift! Have a fabulous week everyone.

as always, thank you for following along, until next time . . .