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| Introduction Granted, my business is photography, but an essential part of the art of photography is interpreting the world around us. That's my mom in the photograph above, on the left. The photo was taken in 2004. She was holding a photograph of herself as a teenager, taken by her father who was a photographer back in the 1920's-30's. Her grandfather was also a photographer, so for me, photography is "in my blood." The man smoking the pipe is my dad, the photo taken back in 1977. Dad died in 1986. It seems like an eternity has passed since then, yet in other ways it seems like only yesterday. I still miss him, and loved and respected him so much. Even though I have loved photography for many years and they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words," there are still times when a picture can't express what is in one's heart. This is one of those times for me. I have to use words. I am writing all this because I received the most amazing gift. It's something I
need to talk about, to tell others, so that they might also receive
such a gift. When I decided to free up some of my time, to help her, to be with her, to make her life a little better in her "later years", I really had no idea when she might die. I just did this as a gesture of love. Without the loving support of my wife and family, I could not have done this, and for that I am very grateful. Little did I know, what a profound impact this all would have on me. I discovered I was not really the one giving a gift to my mom. I found that I was the recipient of a great gift. We grew very close during this time and I was blessed beyond measure, to have experienced this time with Mom. I think she would probably have said the same. We were both recipients of a wonderful gift, and I guess you might say God was the giver. I wanted to write about this, to encourage others to make sure they don't miss out on this tremendous gift. If you have the opportunity to give your aging parent this gift, I encourage you to do so. Set aside some time just for them. You may find a blessing, in ways you hadn't imagined. You may find healing. If you are like me, you may also gain some deeper insights into living and loving, and experiencing gratitude for all that life brings us, even in the midst of adversity. I am a Christian, so understand that I write from that context. If you are of a different faith, I totally respect that. I just wanted to mention that my writings are coming from my perspectives as a Christian.
Thank you Mom, for the many lessons you have taught me. I will not forget what I have learned. |
Reflections on Life -
Note: I have marked a few with "**" to indicate some of the writings you might try reading if you don't have time to read them all.
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