The Beauty All Around

I am the last person I would have thought would ever be into taking photos. I distinctly remember many years ago thinking I would never need to even own a camera because I'm visually impaired, so pictures probably just wouldn't be a big part of my life. Fine for others to take all the pictures they want, but me? Naw.

And then some important things started to happen. Like my wedding. Then a baby. Scrapbooking was suggested to me when my daughter was born and I totally poo-pooed it. "I can't see well enough to scrapbook!", I said.

How wrong I was. About all of it. Not only did I still need to care about pictures, but yes, I could scrapbook if I wanted to!

But that's not even the point. By thinking in such a narrow way, I was limiting my experiences, limiting their impact on me and not fully APPRECIATING them.

Shame on me.

I read the book The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold several years ago. In it was a perspective changer for me:

Now I love taking pictures. Of everything from the awesome to the mundane. Because I am visually impaired they will never be the caliber of a professional photographer. I don't care. Besides, there are so many widgets and whatnot to help me make them look better. The pictures I take mean I am present, that I am PAYING ATTENTION.

This is why Instagram is so freaking fabulous!

That book quote may have given me a great way to think about photographs, but having a visual impairment gives me a special perspective as well. Every single time I step outside, I take it all in. I look up at the sky, down at the ground, at my neighbor's house or the car parked on the street. The color of a bright flower will catch my eye and I have to stop and LOOK. Often this requires walking right up to it. Also often, stopping to take a picture affords me a clearer look later on.

Sunsets! Clouds! Flowers! Fall Leaves! My children's faces! My kids catch me staring at them. It's all so BEAUTIFUL to me. I will never take SEEING these things for granted. No. In fact, I cherish the vision I still have because it was nearly taken away from me.

All this is to lead up to sharing some of the Fall beauty I've captured this year, just right around my neighborhood. The colors and contrasts never cease to amaze me.

What I Like About Me

There’s a little something that seems to be spreading through the blogosphere which I found at Ciao Mom’s site. This little something has people listing all the things they like about themselves.

Yes, apparently we CAN actually LIKE things about ourselves.

Kind of a revelation, right?

So, I think I’m going to use categories, because I’m just not real good at being random.

What I like about me - Physically

My hands and wrists, and feet and ankles - They are nicely shaped and sized. A jeweler once told me I have “jewelry store hands” I guess because I wear the stock ring size.

The color of my lips - A very nice shade of pink.

My breasts - Mostly (could be more round). They are a generous size without being too big (full C) and breastfeeding didn’t affect them much. I always hear about breasts deflating to a smaller size after nursing, but mine didn’t.

My body shape - I’m not a “perfect” 36-24-36, but I do have an hourglass figure, meaning my bust and hips measure pretty much the same, and my waist is smaller. So I’m not top heavy nor bottom heavy. My weight is distributed well.

I have blue eyes - but that’s all I like about my eyes because they don’t work right!

What I like about me - Personality

Good sense of humor - I love British humor, stand-up comedy, sarcasm, quirky humor, totally inappropriate and wrong…..I’m not easily offended. Politics, race, religion, men, women, sex are all fair game. And I can laugh at myself. My husband taught me how to have fun at the hospital. Children are a riot!

Open-minded - The older I get the less I judge, and I’ve found the less I judge the happier I am. Each and every one of us is just a human being doing our best making lives for ourselves. Well, except for murderers. They’re not doing their best. But even then, I have a hard time with the idea that bad deeds can’t ever be forgiven. The human heart is limitless. I will always listen to another’s point of view.

Authentic - My life is an open book (hence all this blogging I do). I don’t do or say anything I don’t really want to, unless I absolutely have to. Along with being authentic I have had to learn tact, however. I wear my heart on my sleeve. It’s very hard for me to hide how I feel. This isn’t always easy, and I’ve gotten into trouble because of it. But at the end of the day, it’s still something I like about myself.

Attitude - I am generally content, positive and grateful. Even if I’m struggling with something, I’m not all “everything sucks” or “I might as well just give up”. There’s always something to be learned, the grass is not always greener and it could probably be worse.

Love - I am a really loving wife and mother. I mean, they still drive me crazy sometimes, but my husband and kids know I love them with all my heart.

What I like about me - Skills

Touch typing - I learned how to touch type in high school and I do it pretty well. I can’t imagine not. Especially with my eye problems. Yeah, I think touch typing was meant to be.

Great with dates - I can remember the dates of so many things. It’s crazy! I can even remember some of my friends’ dates better than they can. Now I’m talking special occasions here, not the date of my husband’s next doctor appointment.

Crafts - I can scrapbook, makes cards and knit! I’ve also helped my daughter put together a couple of science projects.  Does that count?

Common sense and logic - I may be a jumble of complicated emotions, but they are tempered by a decent amount of common sense and ability to use logic and deductive reasoning.

Multi-tasker - What mom isn't?  But seriously, I can have several things going on at once and somehow manage to get through them all.  I get a lot done around my house when I'm on the phone!


Man, this really is kind of a difficult exercise. I feel a little silly going on like this. I tweeted @CiaoMom about my feeling silly and she said back, “Do not feel silly, feel empowered. Celebrating yourself is a gift to yourself in the long run. #BeEnough”.

Alright then. Now I will post.