Love Thursday: February 28th, 2008

There's something I love about an image of a man caring for a young child.  And it's not just pictures of my husband with our daughter, either.  I think it has something to do with the fact that often men are expected to be strong, stoic,  and capable of subduing any signs of vulnerability -- so when I see a man being particularly tender or attentive with a child, I feel like I've been let in on a little secret. 

The photograph above was taken this past weekend:  a friend asked me to take pictures of her young daughters.  We met at a park, and I was so happy that her husband, B, decided to join us.  With the aid of my long 70-200mm lens, I was able to capture this special moment between daddy and daughter.  Thanks, B, for letting me in on the secret.

 Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please leave your links of images of love in the comments section, below -- and for inspiration, please check out the lovely image by Addicted to Coke left in the Shutter Sisters Flickr Pool.

And may you witness a tiny, secret moment of love today. 

Love Thursday: February 21st, 2008

On Sunday night, our family had a little scare:  Alex wasn't herself all day, sort of just tired and lethargic.  At the end of the day, we finally decided to call her pediatrician on call -- and soon after, found ourselves in the emergency room, with Alex on a nebulizer.  Turns out she was having her first asthma attack, resulting from pneumonia we didn't know she had.

I remember a moment in the emergency room, watching Alex's limp body finally sleeping, at about 1 a.m.  And I remember irrationally thinking:  "I shouldn't have become a mother.  I can't take this.  I can't watch this.  I'm not strong enough."  Of course, immediately afterwards,  I remember saying to myself, "Don't be an ass, Karen.  She's going to be fine.  What's the matter with you?  In the grand scheme of things, this is nothing.  And if this was something truly life-threatening, of course you'd be strong enough.  You'd take a deep breath, and you'd deal.  BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MOTHERS DO."

Of course, everything is fine now, and all of us are breathing easier.  And I think back to that night, I'm sort of shocked by the intense fear I was experiencing, motivated by intense love.  Who would've thought five years ago I was going to be a mom, let alone love this little kid with the ferocity that I do?  And boy, how I do.

Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please leave your links of love in the comments below -- and be sure to check out the photos left in the Shutter Sisters Flickr Pool by keeper of the chocolates and tonyapoole for inspiration.

And may be you bowled over by the love you feel today. 

Love Thursday: February 14th, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  

An admission:  historically, I've always rather disliked Valentine's Day, ever since I was a gawky tween, all knees and teeth, and the only person in class who didn't receive a Valentine.  Even now, as someone who is in a happy and loving marriage, Valentine's Day still makes me uneasy:  what's with all the jewelry ads on television?  The pressure to come up with the perfect gift?  The sheer commercialization of love?  I mean, granted, Valentine's Day is sort of a Hallmark Holiday, and it's certainly nice to be the recipient of such things, but is that really the only way to express love?

I say no.  Absolutely not.  As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to celebrate Valentine's Day a little differently this year:   

Today, Valentine's Day, in addition to making sure my husband and daughter know how much they're loved, I'm going to challenge myself commit a random act of love today.  It may not be overwhelming or grandiose; in fact, often the best acts of love aren't.  Perhaps I'll send a note or an e-mail to someone with whom I haven't  spoken in a while, telling them I'm thinking of them.  Or maybe I'll buy a small grocery-store bouquet of flowers and leave them anonymously on someone's doorstep.  Or maybe I'll leave a Love Note to my city in some random location. Who knows?  But I think I want to do something love-ly.  Take Valentine's Day back to what it's all supposed to mean.

 Of course, you can feel free to join me. :)

Anyway, Valentine's Day aside, Happy Love Thursday!   Please leave your links to your images of love in the comments below (and be sure to check out the beautiful work of camera shy momma, iyoyome, and nicky thomas and their depictions of love). 

And most sincerely, may your hearts be FILLED with love today, on this special, Valentine's Love Thursday Day! 

Love Thursday: February 7th, 2008

While I certain can appreciate a well-put together outfit and I admire women who have an innate sense of style, I have to admit that I'm personally too lazy to cultivate much fashion or style in my life.  I mean, I'm not a slob or anything:  for example, I do try to wear at least a little lipstick when I go out in public; however, I wear my hair the same way every day, I keep my nails short because I really couldn't be bothered with a manicure, and not a day goes by when I don't thank God my eyebrows are relatively thin, because there's no way in hell I'm spending precious moments plucking them.    

But really, I'm not a slob.  Ahem.

Anyway, my laziness extends to my jewelry choices as well -- I don't wear earrings, and I tend to wear the same necklace for months on end.  I love my wedding rings not just because I think they're pretty, but also because I don't have to think about what to wear on my left hand every day.  The thing is, though, I  do like rings, and my right hand feels naked without them; however, toward the end of last year I realized I'd amassed a large enough assortment of rings that I spent far too much time each day (in my opinion) being overwhelmed by the choices.  So when Marcus asked me what I wanted for Christmas, my answer was quick:

 "Well," I said, "I think I'd like a ring for my right hand.  I don't want anything fancy or expensive, but I think that if you gave it to me for Christmas, it would me a lot to me, and I wouldn't want to take it off."

Marcus smiled.  "Okay.  But you pick it out.  That way you'll get something you like."

So I did.  It was a sweet little ring, a wide silver band, very simple.  Marcus ordered it, and come Christmas morning, I opened it gratefully.

But then I noticed another box.  "That's the second one I ordered," Marcus said.

The second one, it turned out, is the ring you see above -- a thin silver band with the words "I love you forever" engraved on one side.  It's a ring Marcus picked out without my input, and it fits perfectly against the band I chose.   I wear them together, keeping the words hidden between the bands.  The set means more to me than I can express.  I never take them off.

 Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please leave your links to your images of love in the comments, below (for inspiration:  the beautiful images left by HipMomma, freakparade and beebee mod in the Shutter Sisters Flickr pool). 

And may you reflect on those symbols of the love in your life today.

(Update:  Because some of you have asked, you can find the ring in the Sundance Jewelry catalog.  That particular ring  -- showing what's on the other side -- can be found here.)

Love Thursday: January 31, 2008

I'm absolutely thrilled with the response from last Thursday's Love Thursday Challenge --  your images and stories absolutely blew me away.  There were several of you who had e-mailed me in the past who mentioned in passing that you missed Love Thursday, but I don't think I really understood the extent to which the day was missed.  I'm really humbled.  Thank you for welcoming it back with open arms.

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The above image of my daughter Alex and her dad, Marcus,  was taken over the summer, while we were visiting Marcus' family  in England.  For the most part, Alex is a Mommy's Girl -- Marcus often calles her "Barnacle" or "Limpet" for the way that she's constantly attached to me.  The truth is, though, that she and Marcus have a truly special connection -- one that's exemplified by her constant desire to sit on his shoulders.  To be honest, some of her interest in sitting on his shoulder has to do with the fact that my husband is 6'5", making for a pretty lofty perch for a 3-year-old.  But once there, it's obvious that she's so relaxed -- not only does she usually rest her head on his head as he walks around (as shown above), but very often, she falls asleep in that position -- and Marcus has to hold on tight to make sure she doesn't slip off.

I love how her complete her trust is in him.  And with that kind of trust comes an abundance of love.

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Happy Love Thursday, everyone!  Please leave your links to your images depicting the love in your life in the comments below -- remember, the images can be symbols of love, love of family, romantic love, love of life, or whatever.  If you need inspiration, be sure to check out what kerry okra, lifeography, and n.elle have uploaded to the Shutter Sisters flickr pool recently.

And may you surrender yourself in trust with someone you love today.