Letting Go ... It’s been a while since I featured one of my “Musings” blog posts, and there is a reason for that. Since seeing my beloved mother safely to the other side of the dream in October,  I have been in a bit of a bogey hole of loss and transition.  It hasn’t been until the last couple of months that I have been able to crawl to the top of the hole and carefully hoist myself out.  As I dust myself off, I realize I have some advice for anyone approaching, circling, or in, a dark night of the soul.1)  Take a flashlight. There will be some interesting findings and details down there that you’ll only be able to see by shining a ...

Sweet Ila and My Mother's Cleft It’s been an interesting time in my life. After caring for my ailing 89-year old mother for the last couple of years, I witnessed her last breath on this side of life in October. I’m reminded that grief has many layers, and some of those layers can’t easily be overridden by my very strong spiritual beliefs that all is well and nothing, ever, is out of place or before its perfect time – including death. Some layers just need to be felt for what they are – sadness and longing – and experienced as such. These things can neither be rushed nor avoided – just accepted as remnants of a life well lived and a love that ...

Our Young Family This photo was taken some time around 1957, two years before I came along.This image intrigues me for a few reasons. For one, my mother was always the one taking the photos in my family – not that my father was always in the picture – but she was the one that was obsessed with capturing the moment (thank you, mom). It was rare to actually see her in a photo. Had she asked my father to take the picture with her in it, or was it his idea? It would have been unlike him to have requested this photo – he was always in a hurry to get anywhere but where he was, and he would have likely felt impositioned by this request. (I recognize the same qualities in ...

My Mother's Life I usually keep my blog posts to a specific shoot or theme, but it’s such an interesting time in my life that I feel like being a bit more personal with this post.I’ve been spending about half of each week with my mother, in her home (about 2 hours from Pittsburgh). She’s not unable to live by herself, but me and my sister try to make sure she’s not alone for long.  The changes that happen at her stage of life seem to happen rapidly, and we are all aware that these are the final chapters in her amazing life.  I can’t speak for my siblings, but I consider this time to be a privilege. I feel blessed to have this opportunity to not ...