Catch up

These short December days slip by so very, very quickly. It is so very easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the "shoulds" and "ought tos" of life that the moments that make this season so very special get lost.

This is part of the reason I am participating in the daily picture taking inspiration of the photography class "Picture the Holidays". I was hoping that it would give me a few moments in the day to pause and reflect and reframe.

And for the most part it has. There are days when baskets for the Mustard Seed need a few more things, so I volunteer to round them up. And there are church meetings that have to be attended. And there are Sunday services that need planning. And the girls need black socks for their concert. And dinners need to be prepared for my own and other families. And of course, there is always the laundry and those d*%m toilets that need cleaning.

So I am playing catch up on my daily picture taking and my December Daily album. And I'm ok with that. The fact of the matter is, I don't get to the picture everyday, but the daily prompts change how I look at my day and how I go about my day. For example, a few days ago, the challenge was 'reflections' - trying to capture something in a mirror. All day I had been looking for some way to do that, and it just wasn't happening. At the end of my day, I was doing the dishes (after spending most of the afternoon cooking and using every pot in my house), I washed one of those very large stainless steel bowls, put it on the rather large pile of dishes, and saw myself (elbows up to dirty dishwater) in the reflection. And there was my photo! However, I didn't stop to take the picture. I actually didn't want to - not because I didn't want to capture it, but because I was in the moment and thought that taking a photo with my camera would spoil the moment for me. So, I took a picture in my head, and spent the rest of the time thinking about life.

And that is what I love about this class. It so changes the way I have looked at my world. Here are a few photos from the other challenges:

This one is about "the little things", like toes peeking out of blankets while watching my all time favourite Christmas movie (The Polar Express)

Another challenge - to find signs 'out there' that speak to your soul. Sadly, but not surprisingly, Starbucks nailed it on the head: Stories are gifts: share.

And the challenge for today (and yes, this means I am all caught up!!): translating the ambience we see with our eyes and the glow we feel in our hearts into something photographic. While at the girl's Winter Celebration tonight, one of the classes did a fabulous ribbon dance, and I played a bit, and voila! here it is:

Now it's time to move onto my December Daily...