I am honored to be asked by Sara (a phenomenal photographer) to guest post here today. I thought I’d share a bit about how I find inspiration and joy in the mundane day to day stuff of life. Sometimes life is just plain hard. Other times I think we choose to focus on the less desirable things in life and end up grumpy people…a.k.a. SNL’s Debbie Downer. So much of my days consist of undesirable things. I have been changing diapers daily for 7 years. As soon as I sweep the kitchen floor someone makes another mess. I am meeting someone else’s needs pretty close to 24/7. If I focus on all that makes up my days that I don’t enjoy, well I’d be so distracted that I would miss out on all the incredible things that also make up my days. I don’t consider myself a very optimistic person, but more of a realist…I did marry an optimist. Realistically I know that I usually have two ways of looking at things: that or this. When I give too much attention to “that”, I miss out on all the goodness of “this”.
For instance:
That: Daily I battle frustration that my 4 year can take his precious time eating lunch. He’ll still be there when the other 3 have come and gone. He has become difficult to dress, preferring his pjs all day.
This: My 4 year old believes he is stronger and faster when he wears his Batman pjs. He relishes alone time with me and is content to casually eat if it means I am in the room with all my attention on him. He is crazy about his mommy and about being super tough.
That: Despite my attempts at landscape maintenance, the weeds and grass in my flower beds are always winning. I can never find time to catch up, nonetheless get ahead.
This: My flower beds flourish with tons of color, scents and beauty from spring to fall….bringing lots of smiles to my face.
That: I am forever behind on computer related stuff due to lack of time and my computer being on the verge of dying…it is SO SLOW because I have too much junk on it.
This: The lack of speed on my computer means it is filled with things that make me happy and I can enjoy creative time with the boys while my computer is processing images and data.
That: My lettuce and spinach didn’t do so well and the time to turn it under came a lot faster this year.
This: My 6 year old finds great joy in hitting plants/weeds/grass with a plastic baseball bat. I don’t get it, but he celebrated the chance to whack down some veggies he helped plant.
That: Oklahoma summers are hot and I would love a pool in my backyard for swimming. Instead of a pool we have a plastic bin and toys strewn across the yard.
This: The plastic bin is the perfect height for my daughter to splash and play….and I cherish watching her.
I hope you are enjoying your summer and I hope you can find a lot of “this” to enjoy and not a lot of “that”. Thanks, Sara, for having me!
Ashley Campbell
http://www.ashleyannphotography.com/blog
