Clean slate (#365)

This is me.

You've seen me before or pieces of me I guess here and there. I am clean, freshly showered without anything on but my undergarments (sort of). My two boys are racing about the house behind me as I prop my camera upon a tall cardboard tube that once carried a throw rug. My husband is busily getting ready for work either completely ignoring me or totally unaware of my strangeness.

I can honestly say that my life is different from a year ago today because of blip, because of photography. I have found my own inner beauty and a beauty of a world I never noticed. I am often consumed by the desire to turn on a side road rather than go to work or sit up all night reading photography techniques instead of getting the boys to bed on time.

I have never written in my life. I kept journals as a small child but they always seemed to be associated with hardships, so I would throw them out. I never received high marks in my writing classes. I found writing tedious and unrewarding. So I am proud that I've managed to write something, at least just something, every day for an entire year. And I think I actually kind of enjoy it now.

I have to quickly interject to mention that my 5 year old is currently playing with his new camera as I type this. He is spinning around and jumping up and down to see what effects he can create. "Isn't this pretty, Mama?" "It's for you if you like it." His imagination is limitless. I can only imagine what he could do if he kept at this to adulthood.

I am sort of just rambling I realize, but I wanted to get this done for the day and be over it instead of obsessing about a perfect image I would never attain.

I love the community of blipfoto and am so lucky to have found people who I consider to be friends though we've never seen one another in person. I am honored that Joe and all the staff continue to only grow and develop this amazing community. I always look forward to the little (New) next to the Blipblog.

I wouldn't have know about blip without my good friend pddesigns. She is just as enamored with photography as I am, and we can talk for hours on end.

So I had a lot to say. Thought of it in the shower. But now my two boys are yammering about Santa in a sleigh and lunch.

So thank you to everyone for your incredible kindness when I was having a hard time and for your beautiful comments on my special photos. I have found peace here, and I don't intend on leaving any time soon.

-Avena