sylvia in transit
business as usual
Tagged with family …
the ebb & flow of memory
There is no way to predict what will set off a wave of memory, but once it washes over me I can’t get thoughts of my father out of the forefront of my mind. Like the time we were at a stop light and I looked left to see this Japanese cyclist resting on a bench. Or last week, in my sleep. That night, I had a dream that I was in Greece, or somewhere that looked like it according to my mind’s eye, a Greece created from my own imagination. In dreams, you just know some things.
In the dream, many of my extended family members were there, milling about and socializing against a backdrop of sand colored ruins. I held a camera in my hand, and as I looked through the view finder I saw my father turn towards me and smile. The lighting was perfect, and his smile warm as it always was – I desperately wanted to capture that moment on film. As I adjusted the focus and tried to take the photo, something jammed and I couldn’t open the shutter. Lowering the camera, I tried to identify the problem, and fired a random test shot.
Raising the camera again, I looked through the viewfinder just in time to see the shadow of a cloud sweep over his face. I tried to ready myself for the lighting to change enough for a photo, and then I woke up.
Well, he wasn’t here when I woke up either, but at least his smile is always there in my memory.
Relaxing in Saluda
Last week I went to Saluda, North Carolina to visit with family again, and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the newest member of my family. The beautiful baby above was the center of everyone’s attention the whole time we spent in the mountains. The rolling blue peaks of the Appalachian mountains were a dramatic backdrop against which to relax and catch up with family & friends.
PS. On second thought, basically my entire family voted for the Athena dress and as my ‘first love’ among wedding dresses I must say I kinda agree. 
