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The first words of hers I read are among her last—the blog post she’d written for her family to publish after she died. In her farewell post she writes:

…the small stuff is very small and not worth your time and attention. Gossip and resentments, worrying about things that never happen, fearing the unknown. Let it go my lovelies, breathe and just be good to each other. I realized not long after my diagnosis that life is too short to spend it hurting people and holding onto the anger we have for those around us.

It’s not the first time I wish that such fine clarity didn’t come at such a cost.

++++

Then I read this and it knocks my bloated, plain, aging self off the couch I spend too much time on, and I wonder why California has to be so damned Pacific and why the Alantics have to be so damned… Atlantic, and I wish the land in between would go POUF so that Elaine and I could, you know, get a little drunk together. Tonight.

++++

In this place the water rushes in a steady current, clean and fresh. The underside of the creek bridge brushes against my back as I crouch.

This is not a photo of a boy in a tunnel. It is of the black in there, the tar-black. And the light. And of how either the darkness or the lightness wraps around you depending on where you choose to stand.

What’s on your mind? Show us with your camera.

Comments

[dr lyn]

thinking of an Internet friend (and Shutter Sister) today -- and trying to spread a little joy here way...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11439752@N04/2727849795/

[camerashymomma]

aiy.

sometimes there's so much hurt in the world. wow i'm thinking of elaine. yes, it seems i am right there with her this week. i am experiencing the beginnings of separation in a state that does not even regocnize it in a court of law... what’s in between marriage and divorce? only time will tell for me.

i try to get back to myself and find who i was, who i am, who i am to become
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2726485191/

i worry how my choices will affect my son
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2731032006/

everyone says to follow your heart. and so that's what i will try to do. and that's what i would tell elaine over a glass of red wine if i could.

[Marcie]

Finding the quiet inside....

http://bravo.unisonplatform.com/~marciesc/index.php?showimage=476

[Michelle]

http://outloud.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/day-13-falling-to-sleep-by-herself/

[e.darcy]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2718120844/
what's in my mind...
trying to figure out this womanly thing-to be comfortable, confident, empowered. to not get caught up in the crazy world of trying for a baby and just enjoy...to just enjoy the two-ness of us..

[shelli]

This is a beautiful post, and a good reminder. I have been thinking a lot about how I can better use my time (while I'm not working) to do things I really want to do. And what I need to do to remain true to myself while my days are filled with toddler playtime and changing diapers. I have been getting up early in the mornings to write, and I'm so happy about this. Though my greatest joy is my son, and I often think about how I can bring more wonder into his life:

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy/Pages/Nikon_D60.html#14

[~ kristina ~]

Good words and reminders.

What's on my mind these days is the ten-year mark of graduating from college, leaving home for good, and how my life ten years ago was so different than how it is now, in good and bad ways. Still trying to process it all!

http://meadowlarkdays.blogspot.com/2008/08/1998.html

[Dana (Sunshine)]

Oh my, that is soo sad. Thank you for sharing that. But, it is a good reminder we need to realize what is important instead of hte trivial things we sometimes spend our time worrying about.

I guess nature has been on my mind lately....here are some photos
<a href="http://mylifeinpictures4u.blogspot.com/2008/08/weekend.html">FROM MY WEEKEND</a>

[Dana (Sunshine)]

ok, lets try that again. The link is:
http://mylifeinpictures4u.blogspot.com/2008/08/weekend.html

Not sure what I did on the previous comment. Sorry about that.

Dana (Sunshine)

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

My heart aches to travel.....I always just want to go, and see.....

See more places like this:
http://wayfaring-wanderer.blogspot.com/2008/08/quick-getaway-clingmans-dome.html

Life is too short to be stuck in a windowless office all-day-long!

[jfrancis]

The light at the end
would mean nothing
but for the darkness
of the tunnel.

[Kath]

My sister is on my mind. I want to bring her flowers. Kath

[kristin]

wow i do not understand what is going on in the universe these days, but so much is churning and this post kate just seems right in line with all i have been feeling this week. first i received this from my aunt:

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you.
A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach.
When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself,
the women in your life will be on the valley's rim.
cheering you on,
praying for you,
pulling for you on your behalf,
and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.
Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you,
Or come in and carry you out.

then i read a flickr friend's blog in NEED. i too wanted all space and time and borders to dissolve. for she and i to see one another, to cry, to just be. so that she would know , really know, that she is valued and loved even from afar. unable to "reach" her i made this hoping she would see me. she did. and so did others who made a chain to help pull her up a bit... so i have been feeling, connected, raw, real....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2723303412/

[jag]

What's on my mind? Creating my space and finding my place as a photographer - just for the fun of it! Inspired by the recent post on Street Photography, I hit the town yesterday with my P&S. Here are a couple of self-portraits from that experiment:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2729825427/in/set-72157606526891774/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2729829561/in/set-72157606526891774/

Sending Love to heal the pain,
jag xox

[kayla]

well i do not have a photo, but i do have a blog post about worrying...

http://livingthecreativeteenlife.blogspot.com/2008/08/his-mysterious-ways.html

[Jen - Beebee Mod]

Oh Kate. That just was about the most gut-wrenching thing. I think that is sometimes my biggest worry...not seeing my children grow up. Or something happening to them. But worry never helped anyone. It just leads to all sorts of problems. But it is hard to let it go. xo

[Chris]

What's on my mind? A lot. Almost losing my son 2 weeks ago to an anaphylactic reaction;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroldssis/2692134574/in/set-72157606306756654/
My brother who's been gone 10 years now but sometimes feels just like yesterday.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroldssis/2433678647/
I won't dwell though. I can't dwell. All I can do is be very thankful for what I did have and what I do have. I am blessed.

[mary]

Having just lost my husband's beloved aunt, and watching my in-laws decline rapidly, I actually have death on my mind quite often these days, and what comes next:

http://inasoftlight.blogspot.com/2008/08/in-another-life.html

[Bet]

http://www.betrankphotography.com/?SSScrollPosition=172

Thinking about the broken ties within my family.

[Rachel Parton]

On my mind today: a weekend spent with friends - a lot of laughter, enjoying life and holding on to the small moments.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/partonponderings/2733548918/

[Ammie]

What makes my husband smile when he gets home:
http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=angelinalaughlc7.jpg

[Lu]

I am enough...
http://flickr.com/photos/ldb/2428439315/in/set-72057594120121854/

Lately, my ego has been working overtime feeding on a few stressful situations. As a result, I find myself thinking I am lacking something.

I lack nothing. I am complete...now to just feel that way all the time...

[Lan]

http://whatiseeclicks.blogspot.com/2008/08/brokenfence.html

thinking about the things we used to do when we didn't know better and how it's affecting us now.

[Julie Alvarez]

Beautiful post.
I am trying to look at my child as who she really is, and not what I want her to be. Letting her be herself, why should that be hard? Not repeating the same mistakes my parents made, trying to mold me into someone they thought I was.
So, here she is, just playing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2732957798/
And here my attempt to introduce her good things of life, like nature.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2733009738/

[Kirsten]

I will be holding these two closer tonight. Thanks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingcheeky/2730199849/sizes/m/

[Claudious]

I think the silhuette is my favorite style of photograph, it teases at so much of what's going on and leaves most of what you see to your imagination. I love this picture, wonderful work.

[Alice C]

My son is 18 and ready to leave home. I want to know that I have given him a moral compass to understand the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, light and dark...

http://magpiefiles.blogspot.com/2008/08/light-and-dark.html

[daisy]

I caught a sunrise for the first time in over thirteen years.

New beginnings?

Last two pictures of:

http://www.sharrock.net/2008/08/last-bit-of-salt-spring.html

[SweetRiceCake]

For the past couple years, I've been thinking about kids. Some day, some way, we will have a little family. In the meantime, there is so much to be thankful for, including the dog, who is mine, and the friends who had this awesome kid....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29077578@N05/2736691475/

[Diane Schuller]

what's on my mind? the sweet ordinary Maile talked about in an earlier post. I blogged about it:
http://albertapostcards.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/sweet-ordinary/

and I captured an image immediately after that chronicled my thoughts:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27458974@N00/2719562773/

Thank you for sharing, and for asking.

Diane