Olympic Stories

I am starting to get excited about the start of the Olympics. I am not a huge sports person so it's not really the competitions that get me excited. It is the stories. I love hearing all of those awe inspiring stories about the athletes that usually make me feel all pumped up, proud to be a human, and yet sometimes also make me feel like an old, lazy, underachiever. It is almost like those Hallmark ads. I get so emotional listening/reading about these athletes who have worked so hard to become the best at their sport. I heard my first "story" tonight about a 15 year old diver (can you imagine being in the Olympics at 15?!) who is scared of heights yet is able to do some of the most challenging dives in the world from the 10 meter board (3 stories up). Amazing.

We saw some other amazing feats this weekend at the Circus. Camille and Noah's first experience at a Ringling Brothers/Barnum Bailey Circus. We went with my cousin and her family and we all had a great time. It was nice because it was a smaller circus (not their typical three ring affair....I am sure it takes a lot of gas to transport a circus, can you imagine their travel expenses?). Before the show started, we were able to meet some of the performers and see some of the warm ups while standing around the ring. I am sure it isn't an easy life in the circus, but it is one that has always fascinated me....especially those families that have a multiple generations in the circus. Pretty inspiring to see what people can do when they have the talent combined with hard work and lots of practice.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ever since my first taste of strawberry freezer jam (thanks to Shanea) I have been wanting to make my own...and now seven years later I am finally doing it! It actually turned out to be a great activity with the kids. We all had fun chopping, mashing, mixing, and sampling our final product. Ours is a little chunkier than expected because we didn't have a potato masher or food processor, but it still tastes great and will be good over ice cream, waffles, toast, angel food cake, biscuits...you get the idea.

To Savor or To Capture

I have this on-going conflict. I hear my father's voice directing me to "never leave home without your camera". He never did. When I was little his camera bags were two leather boxes lined with a soft, velvety material. He would frequently pull over on the side of the road if he something caught his eye. He is rarely in any of our family photos because he was always the one gathering us together to record the event. My mother is also a amazing photographer. She is especially gifted at capturing personalities on film. And my grandfather was a well-known documentary photographer. So in some ways my "conflict" is part of my genetic composition. I have a strong urge to capture moments, scenes, and people around me.

The first signs of my "conflict" came during Noah's first preschool performance. It was a Fall performance and the audience (ie parents) crowded into their seats eagerly waiting for their cuties to take the stage. As soon as the music started, so did the clicking. I had this surreal moment of realization. I put down my camera and turned to look around the room. Just about every person/parent in the audience had a camera or video camera in front of their face. I was struck by the view the children must have from the stage...instead of proud parents beaming it was a sea of metallic eyes trying to get the best shot. I turned my camera off and tried to enjoy the moment instead of capturing it. And the conflict has continued.

I want to have a record of my children's childhood. I love looking through my dad's slides and our family albums. I don't have baby books for my kids and now in the age of digital I rarely print out photos (although I really need to do that). I keep the blog and once a year I put together a photobook with highlights from the past year. And yet there are some moments that I miss because my camera isn't with me or because I choose to experience it instead of capturing it.

One of those moments happened two nights ago. While eating dinner the kids and I watched an enormous great egret walk around out back yard hunting for his dinner. After dinner, we walked to my grandparents house (a few blocks away) and while checking out their tomatoes we all turned in surprise to see the same great egret. We pulled up lawns chairs and sat down to watch the show. Thirty minutes with my children, my grandparents, and a big beautiful bird....even with the occasional sibling squabble it was one of those magical experiences that I want to remember for a long time. I don't have any photographs because I left my camera at home. I am glad I didn't have a camera with me because I don't think I would have been able to savor that experience. I would have been adjusting the camera, thinking about the light, the bird's movements, etc, but instead I was able to sit in a purple lawn chair mesmerized and happy to be right where I was.

I think this conflict will go on for a long time. Anyone else struggle with this?