Snapshots

I love pictures. No, really, I LOVE pictures. I still am figuring out how to archive my 10,000 plus photos, but that doesn't stop me from trying, or from taking 10,000 more photos. As I go to work today my screeensaver on my computer shows an image of our boys on our last trip to the beach. It captured the moment perfectly, the happy faces, the moment in time when my boys were the age they will never be again, the priceless moments of childhood. Everyone looks so happy. Those are the moments I love to paint, to dwell on in life, the happy moments.

But as in all of our lives, life is not always that perfect snapshot. The things weighing on my mind today are of being a good parent. Will we measure up? Will we be able to teach our boys the things they need at the time they need it? Will we be able to sense what they need and when? How can we help them be independent, strong men? How can we be the best parents we can be? How will we know what and when we need to do things? And, will we do this parenting thing right? Oh it is a scary thing, we love them with our whole heart. We don't want to fail them. Our boys are at three radically different ages, 13, 9, and 5 with unique needs. We do so many things as a family, and yet try our best to give everyone the one on one time they need. I guess this could be a fear every parent has. Our sweet babies do not come with an instruction manual. We have to just go for it, and do our best. We live, and learn. Each day we have failures, trials, and things that could have gone a bit better. We learn from those moments, and press on. We listen to the wisdoms of the children as they teach us in their unique ways, remind us about what is important in life. If we listen close, could we come that much closer to being that parent our children need us to be? Would we measure up? It is my hope that this will work, that our love coupled with our ability to listen and engage our children in conversation will lead us to making the right decisions as parents. We treasure the moments we have together, really listen to one another, and be ever present in our daily interactions. If we can try to do this, we can all look back on those snapshots, those moments in time. We can all, no matter the age, look at those times and be proud, and say, I loved those times we spent together, they were the best! Yeah we had worries, we had difficult challenges, but theses snapshots, well these bring back some beautiful memories of special moments. My hope is no matter what generation is looking at those snapshots, they will see the love, the special times, and know that in the end love is always enough.

It is my hope that capturing such moments in a painting can remind us all of these special moments we have with one another. It is my hope that it will bring joy to the viewer in their own unique way they look at life.