e.pit.o.me

e-pit-o-me (noun): a person or a thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type

Allow me to use it in a sentence. Lightning bugs are the absolute epitome of summertime. 

Tonight, I was nine years old again.  I was running up and down the giant hill of a back yard at my grandparents house with my Yankee cousin alongside.  A Mason jar was surely involved.  Quick, random sprints here and there to catch our prize - lightning bugs as we call them in the South.

Only did I snap back into reality during one of my sprints when I heard my 15 year old daughter cheer, "You go Momma!"

If you've never had the opportunity to experience what I just described, I'm a little sad for you.  Yes, it's a simple little activity, but then again, isn't that what life's about - the simple pleasures?

I received a text from my "Yankee" cousin a few weeks ago.  (I use the term affectionately, of course, after all I am married to one!) She was visiting a state a little further south than her home and spotted some lightning bugs.  She too was instantly taken back to the hill behind our grandparents home where she came to visit each summer.

As several hours of rain showers finally decided to end tonight, my three kiddos and I went to run a few quick errands.  Upon return, our tree lined, forty year old street was blinking bright,  fluorescent yellow here and there.  As we pulled into the drive, I said, "Come on guys, you're gonna help me catch some lightning bugs!"  

My nutter butter got a Mason jar from the pantry, I pulled on my rain boots, and the sprinting began.  We darted here; we dart there; we darted into the neighbor's yard...  We filled the jar and watched the lightning bugs climb ever so easily up the side of the glass jar to the top as they do, making it so, so hard to add new ones to the collection.  We were making memories.  Memories that one day will come back to them.  Come back to them when my three are grown and gone with yards of their own, they will spot a bright yellow blinking light and that urge will hit them to get their own Mason jar out of the pantry and sprint and dart around with their kiddos.  

 e-pit-o-me (noun): a person or a thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type

This gruff looking little guy decided to join my photo shoot!

Sprinkles on Top

What is it about sprinkles that makes everything better for a kid?  Ice cream with sprinkles on top, cupcakes with sprinkles on top, pudding with whipped cream and sprinkles on top, and as if donuts alone aren't appealing enough - even donuts with sprinkles on top!

Maybe it's the bright colors, maybe it's their festivity, maybe the crunch; but regardless, the sprinkles on top make just about everything more exciting for children.  

A couple of days ago, the hubster made an early morning trip and came home with a box from our locally owned donut shop - Daily Donuts.  When he makes these occasional runs, he always has the  Daily Donut folks throw in some donuts of the sprinkle-covered variety.  They are absolutely gorgeous and I have commented numerous times that I really want to photograph these delightfully colored donuts. The bright colors of the sprinkles draw me in - maybe it's the kid hiding inside? Maybe the sprinkles actually have a magical magnetic element to them?  Either way, they were going to be my next photog subject. I enticed my little nutter butter to be my photo assistant by holding the reflector for me while I snapped away.  How did I entice her?  You're looking at it, of course!

When thinking about the attraction children have to sprinkles, I found myself thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if we had life sprinkles?" Brightly colored candies to sprinkle on the unpleasantries of life.  Where would I add my sprinkles? Probably some on my never ending piles of laundry, some on my dusty furniture, maybe a few atop an exercise routine, or maybe even a good dosing on my bedside table so I stop hitting snooze and get up right away to get those sprinkles!

After contemplating the idea a little further, I began to think that I really already have my sprinkles on top - a fabulous hubby that makes morning runs to the local donut shop, three beautiful inside and out kiddos that are healthy and happy, a wonderful home instead of just a house, ...

The next time I see sprinkles, I told myself I would reflect - reflect on the sprinkles I already have in my life.  Festive reminders of all in my life that is worth celebrating.

The next time my kids see sprinkles though...might just be on their vegetables!

Bam!

Ever feel as though you've run smack dab into a brick wall? Receiving a rejection for the third time, bam.  Coming home from a full-time job to numerous loads of laundry, a sink full of dirty dishes, and a 30 minute dinner challenge, bam.  Asking the kiddos to do the same task over and over and over again, bam.  Stepping on the scales, bam.

I was having one of those weeks recently and really, was doing a most fabulous job of wallowing.  I can be a very good wallower.  But the longer I thought about the brick wall analogy, the more I started thinking about all the amazing brick walls in the little town that is now my home. I drive by them every day on my route to work. I think about all they've seen in the numerous years they've been standing.  Many have been around since the 1850s.  

Nick's General Merchandise was one of the first.  Even though these vintage walls are still standing and most house some sort of business, only one structure remains that still serves its original purpose, the courthouse. Through the years, these brick walls have seen businesses come and go, people come and go, and ideas change and grow.

Amongst my wallowing, I decided to head out and spend some time doing one of my favorite things - taking some photos.  And what more appropriate subject than my town's brick walls.

This particular brick wall setting instantly stood out to me because of the crumbling stucco and the white flowered weed growing out of what seems like nothing.  It's almost as if someone hot glued the plant to the wall. This brick wall is the side of building that seems to have been numerous types of offices or small businesses throughout the years.  

Our little town is built in what is considered a square formation.  The courthouse sits in the center with the road encircling it.  On each side of the courthouse - north, south, east, and west - a road branches away from the circle.  The outer buildings form the center square of the town.  The shot above is from one of the staple corner buildings on that square.  I can't even count the number of times I've driven by it.  But this picture day was the first time I actually noticed the word hotel perched toward the roof line.  I guess I'm always focused on the sweet little soda shop down below that now inhabits this old hotel building.  As I snapped away, I imagined hotel guests gazing out the high windows watching the activity below.

Yes, this looks like a boring brick wall, but I love, love, love the texture here.  I'll admit this photo day wasn't the first time that I'd used this textured backdrop.  It made the perfect pair to my skater son during a shoot I did with him about a year ago. 

Among all the brick walls I photographed in my little town, the next shot was my favorite.  I think is was the pairing of the 150 year old brick with the electricity boxes.  Pairing the two together just created a little vignette of new and old, modern and vintage.  Maybe it's because that's my style; I like the eclectic mix. 

   

After completing my tour de brick, I must say that I felt much better.  Not sure what it is about being behind the lens that often changes my perspective.  Maybe it's just that it gives me solitary time to think - to think about just how much those earlier bams are really blessings.

This last shot pretty much sums it up for me.  When I saw this portion of a brick wall in my town, it seemed like someone had painted it specifically to hold some type of information or quote.  I found one that I thought fit perfectly. Bam!