Today was one of those days that started off with an awesome cup of coffee with a friend and ended with a big ol crashed hard drive! Sooo frustrating. Couldn’t believe it! I follow quite a few photographers and the one thing they al consistently said was WHEN your hard drive crashes not IF your hard drive will crash. So I have provisions in place to protect my prized possessions, my family pictures and my clients family pictures. I lost a couple but nothing worth loosing sleep over.
This was the our Merry Christmas Photo just one year ago!
That was kind of a real disaster. It called for reloading my entire computer from the beginning, finding serial numbers to reload software and those favorite links well….time to start rebuilding those again. Bottom line is, it ain’t an easy fix. I surprised myself…..I kept my cool and I started over again. Just a few short years ago I would one LOST IT! Like a big ol pile of LOST IT! Funny how life and kids mold you and teach you valuable lessons like it just ain’t that big-a-deal.
This week has been a growing experience for all of us. There was a great video being passed around Facebook and it came at just the right time. A family here in Illinois was unfortunately the victim of vandalism. The worst part of the vandalism was that it was directed at their 2 beautiful girls who happen to have an extra chromosome. The video was created by a strong Mama and two even stronger brothers who wanted to stand up for their sisters.
This serves as a reminder to all of us that the R-Word hurts. It hurts the person it is directed at, it hurts that people it is referring to and it hurts the family members who love someone with a disability. Tuesday on the bus my son was present as another child called his friend the R-Word. My son immediately asked him if he knew what that meant and the boy told him that it meant someone with a disability. My son proceeded to tell him that his sister has Down Syndrome and when he says that word it makes him mad. He told him it was not cool to use that word ever.
Once again my heart hurt for my son. It is hard to stand up to your peers and it is even harder hear those words that are directed at people like his sister. Life is hard, real hard sometimes but my kids never cease to amaze me. Their strength is inspiring and I love their heart.
When my son told me the story the one thing stood out in my mind was that the boy that used that word knew exactly what he was saying and he knew exactly what it meant to say that. He knew the definition. I guess in my heart I convinced myself that even when individuals referred to something or someone by the r-word they really did not mean it. It was just a word that easily flowed from their mouth for one reason or another. I was wrong and well it makes that word and the thought of that word hurt so much more. The Hollis boys are so right, it needs to stop and people need to think before they speak.
Happy Friday everyone! Make it great! We can’t wait to meet all the amazing families who won our local photo sessions and Sunday we are having our very own Gingerbread house decorating party! Stay tuned for pictures and a recipe!
