Ephemeral: noun: something that lasts for a very short time

In high school, amid hormones, hopes for the future, and first loves, we read Walt Witman’s Leaves of Grass. Although the bulk of the prose and nuance went over my head, it was the first time I learned the word ephemeral and instantly fell in love.

Ephemeral: noun: something that lasts for a very short time: something ephemeral. specifically : a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in a few days.

The ephemeral nature of time and its continued march forward makes moments fleeting, achievements transitory, and long term goals less valuable than the riches of the present moment. I’ve lived this moment by moment with my children, instants where you would do anything possible to pause time and live in it longer, but the clock ticks, things change, and the moments run through your fingers like so much sugary sand.

Photography is the one tool that can capture the truth of a moment and allow you to trick time and hold it longer. Concurrently to when I was reading Walt Witman and grappling over college decisions, I was convinced I wanted to be a photojournalist for this very reason.

I truly believed I had a gift for telling stories through photos; but just like shiny rocks at the bottom of streams, those beliefs get worn down and washed away through the river of life - but the core remains. This last week of documenting our lives has reawakened some spark inside of me that I feels like something from another lifetime.

Last night, sitting in the car at the OK Cafe intersection, I had a vivid flashback and said to the kids, “There was a time in my life when I thought I was one of the best people in the entire world at telling stories through pictures.” Without talking to each other or missing a beat the BOTH said, “You are.”

Those kids, I tell you… they’re magical.

Today is my Quinn’s 7th Birthday, and this is how we’ve been celebrating. Oh how I love you, my real life Queen of the Slipstream… with eyes that shine.

Happy Birthday Quinnster.

I love her so.

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