'Tis a Happy Thursday

Last night, I had a difficult time finding sleep. Something that came up in conversation with Jason last night had me thinking late into the night with much tossing and turning and restless dreaming. Of course, no two families are the same, but it is unsettling to the differences of how another family addresses problems and how they are supportive of, accountable to, and responsible for each other. That with which I am wrestling, is whether or not the mere fact that it is different does not sit well with me or whether I actually find those ways wrong. I suspect the later, and if this is so, will need to wrestle all the more and come to some sort of conclusion. I want to talk with Jason more about it, of course.

This morning, I woke up 30 minutes before the alarm, snuggled in bed for about 5, and then got up. And my room feels so bare now that all of Jenny's things are gone, but that will soon be righted. I have plans. Big plans. And I have been looking forward to this afternoon ever since I realized that it would be my first real opportunity to fix things up. The excitement is building.

I had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful Thomas at the old Sacrifice meeting place, Homebrew, in San Dimas. Conversations are guaranteed to be open, sincere, and refreshing whenever Thomas is a part of them. He has quite a gifting in the area of critical thinking, intellectual analysis, and has quite the intuitive nature. He is an artist. In sorting through the psyche, he seems to impliment such artistry and quite frankly, I have no idea how his mind works, but I'm thankful for the way it does and his authentic friendship. His love for his wife is so evident in the tenderness in which he speaks of her. She is joy to him and he loves her most in this world. It was beautiful to hear him speak of her with such care. How deeply I believe in their marriage and rejoice in their joy.

In other news, I finally upped and bought a Polaroid! Isn't it beautiful? So now, I'm bidding on eBay to try and find the best deal on film, but I'm afraid my impatience will give in (but I'll try to resist). I have a small list of photographs, already pending, that I want to take as soon as my Polaroid (-and then my film) arrives. How delightful: a new craft to try. I know that Polaroid has announced its decision to discontinue instant film, but there is still much out there for purchase and I value this art form and style enough to spend some money on it even if it is a short-lived joy. By the way, please visit Save Polaroid online and sign the petitions to keep this art form alive. It may seem insignificant or perhaps even a little silly to you, but there really are a host of artists whose livelihood and creative expression are being taken away with the loss of instant film and it truly saddens me.

So, it turns out that Sarah Shoemaker and I are running out of time for her to teach me the jazz combination I would have been teaching at the dance team auditionsm, had things worked out differently. She's mid-Tech Week for their show, Hello Dolly!, and I've booked some more photography shoots for this weekend. Our schedules stubbornly refuse to coincide. Therefore, and sadly, I will not be teaching the combination. However, I will still be on the panel and am looking forward to that next week!

Taxes are finished (and praise the Lord!). And I am so extremely thankful for my mother who did all the diciphering and spent hours and hours figuring out how to report taxes for all my freelance photography self-employment. She is a wonder. I'm going to treat her to dinner, which I know she'll love.

My hair is all flyaway and floopy today.