Fragmented Thoughts and Mother's Day

Lately my life has been feeling fragmented. Like I am hopping from stage to stage, playing the different roles in my life, the different parts of me, but I have lost the thread that connects them all. They are turning into separate stories.

Today I spent time trying to uncover that thread from beneath all the little things that can cover it. I have lists everywhere, stacks of sticky notes, with things I need to do, or look up, or remember. It was as simple as Googling a person, and as complicated as some long overdue emails to friends.

I read. For hours. I have so many books that I pick up and read a few paragraphs of and then put down. It is very hard to keep track of plotlines and characters, let alone actually learn anything from the authors. I am reading about the Iraq and Vietnam Wars, Obama and his history, and a few just for pleasure. Just re-remembering the plots makes me feel more grounded and secure.

My brain has been filled with ideas for stories. I tend to have great ideas that get abandoned. The ideas come few and far between, and I usually have trouble picking the story back up after I have left it for a while. I am trying to get some of the ideas down. I don't know what I'm going to do with them; they are probably going to go nowhere. It feels good to just get it out and on the paper screen. 

iTunes is still a mess after the last time our computer hard drive was re-imaged. A lot of my music has been lost to the abyss of technology and so I took some time to determine what is truly lost, and what is just buried and hidden away.

I did homework. There wasn't a lot to do, but it was enough that I felt better and less pressured after I sat down and just did it.

I went through over a week's worth of pictures. I am still really enjoying taking pictures and exploring the view from behind the lens. I do feel as though I am running out of things to photograph. I don't know how this is possible; even though I am mostly confined to the house, there is so much to see and capture. I need to get more creative and find different angles and ways to look at the same things.

My dad and I (mostly him) have been working on researching cameras and buying a new one. Hopefully we'll get it sometime this week. I am excited to see what kind of improvement in terms of picture quality and zoom capabilities it will have and all the new features I am sure it will be packed with.

Mother's Day was Sunday. I am sure most of you are aware of that. Less known is that it was also my parents' anniversary (23!). There are beautiful flowers in every room.

Plus my new orchid. I think this obsession is growing more quickly than I originally thought.

My mom's one request was a picnic. Our stomachs were full of fresh-squeezed lemonade, chicken curry sandwiches, and strawberries. We went to a local park and relaxed in the sun for a few hours.

I painted a big flower pot and donated in her/their name to the World Wildlife Fund. I adopted a blue-footed booby. It's awesome. And blue.

And some random photos from the week:

How can such an evil weed be so beautiful?

There is wisdom in those timeless, terra cotta eyes.

From me,

to you, Happy Mother's Day.