Gosh, I love books. I will admit that it has been way too long since I have read a book for myself.  Now, it’s all about reading books for the kids.  But I love books.  We have books scattered all around the house.  I love grabbing a pile of books, putting it on the floor, and watching my son start devouring the images in them.  I love that books can entertain, spark the imagination, make you smile, laugh, think, cry, wonder, pontificate, analyze.  Books are cool.

When I thought about this week’s theme, the image posted below immediately came to mind.  Looking at this image makes me cry.  This was taken just days after my mom’s diagnosis of brain cancer.  It was the darkest time in my life.  We didn’t know what was going to happen and were all prepared for the very worst.

When I took pictures that day, I didn’t know if I was capturing the last moments my children would spend with their grandma.  Looking at this image brings me back to that day.  The sorrow that I felt.  The sense of impending loss.  But, what I see in this picture is not sad.  It is my daughter loving my mother.  It is my mother loving my daughter.

My mom is singing her the words to “What a Wonderful World” from the book she had given her for her birthday.  For my daughter, it was a time of joy–to see her grandmother, sit on her lap, and listen to her voice.  My daughter loves this book and loves her “Bama.”

That book holds a special place on our bookshelf.

It’s amazing what an image can conjure up in our hearts and minds.  It is images like this that I will always, always treasure.

I am so happy to be able to report that my mom is fighting this cancer with an inner strength and makes me proud.  The chemotherapy has shrunk her lesions, and I can’t wait for the day that we hear the words: “Cancer-free.”…

On my search for a tree for the 52 Week Challenge, I found a new location to shoot!  I  couldn’t wait to try it out.  I LOVE it!  If you’re interested in a photo session, this is the place!  It’s gorgeous!

This one cracks me up.

Well, okay, this one cracks me up too.  It’s not easy being in front of the camera, you know.

Oh, those flowers!

I had so much fun.  Gosh, I love photography.

I love this parasol.

And last but not least, she finally lost a tooth!

…

This week’s challenge was “trees.”  I thought good and hard on this one.  What message did I want to convey with this theme?

What are trees?   They have  roots.  They clean our air and provide us life.  They give us shelter in a storm.

It reminded me of being a mother.  I am teaching my children to have good values, good morals, love one another.  I am giving them the strength they need to handle adversity.  I am giving them deep roots–showing them how to be grounded.   My idea was born:

I would do a self portrait.  Me, sitting at the base of a tree.  Me, a mother, with my deep roots, feeling and conveying the strength of that tree.

Yes. It would be perfect.

I was ready with a quote too, from Storypeople:

When I die, she said, I’m coming back as a tree

with deep roots & I’ll wave my leaves

at the children every morning on their way to school

& whisper tree songs at night in their dreams.

Trees with deep roots know about the things children need.

I grabbed my tripod, my remote, and my camera.  And began my search.  Only, er, I couldn’t find a good tree.  Hahaha!  But, a tree with deep roots is also flexible.  It can move in the wind.  It can shoulder a storm, as long as it has deep roots.  So, keeping that in mind, I remained flexible and with resolve, continued my search.

What I found was an old tree.  A gnarled tree. A strong and quiet tree.

Lying underneath that tree, I realized that not only am I grounded–grounded like a tree–but I have dreams.  I am a grounded dreamer.  I looked to the blue sky and the parting clouds revealing the shining sun, and I realized one of the gifts I give my children.

I teach them to be grounded and teach them to dream!

Yes.  It was perfect.

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