Then and Now

Eighteen years ago, I made a really good friend at university. He was thoughtful and kind. He was funny and he loved beer. He had really long and beautiful auburn hair. He was a treeplanter. He listened. He was intelligent. He was very athletic and biked alot. He was quiet. He loved hanging out and being with people. He had a deep compassion for people who needed help. He drove a pickup truck. He was very passionate about many things. He worked at a gas station. He was an idealist. He loved deeply. (and he laughed at all my jokes!!)

Eighteen years later, not much has changed. He no longer has a mullet. He no longer plants trees or pumps gas for a living. He has traded in his pick up truck for a mini van. He has a few more laugh lines and a few more grey hairs. But at the core, he is who he always has been. He is still my best friend, and still laughs at all my jokes.

The Joy of Love

It being February and all, I thought I would take this freebie online daily challenge class. I took a class last year by the same woman - Finding the Joy - and really enjoyed it, so I thought why not? My initial idea was to capture all five of us each day, but then reality reared it's ugly head, and I had to re-think the project.

One of the themes that comes up time and time again, especially in my Project Life album, is that Mike's face doesn't show up very often. Generally, I take a tonne of pics of my kids, a tonne of pics of me and my kids, and I try to get in a *creative* self-portrait as often as I feel up to it. But Mike doesn't show up very often.

And it isn't because he isn't important. It's just that most of my picture taking happens during the day when I am at home with the kids. And so - for the month of February - I am focusing on Mike. (and yes, I have sort of warned him...). This may be more of a challenge than I first anticipated, but we'll see how it goes.

Day 1's prompt was about "What They Do". An obvious would be work - Mike spends the majority of his days doing amazing work helping others getting their lives back together again. But that isn't all he does, and so I decided to focus on what he does for us outside of providing the financial means to run this household.

Here are a few snapshots of Mike doing his amazing work at home (and by no means is this an exhaustive snapshot...):

Happy February and here's to finding the love!!