Abundance

The semester has started. I’m only taking one course: a seminar in visual communications. There isn’t a lot available to me until I take the so-called Journalism boot camp in the fall (a 6-credit hour course), but this seminar is the perfect way to segue back into school. I have always enjoyed photography, both as a consumer and as a creator; at age 8, I posed my brother and our fuzzy brown terrier in as many different ways as possible. My black and white photography class was my only successful class my 2nd semester of undergrad. I was rebellious, and tired, and rarely made it to any class except that one. In fact, I didn’t make it there as often as I should have, but I always turned my assignments in. My teacher, a talented photography grad student, loved my work so much that I received an A despite my spotty attendance – she was my saving grace that semester!

I have since grown up, and missing class is the last thing that I want to do. I also know exactly what I’m good at, and what I don’t care about. This is an enormous help. I think that another factor separating my experience this time around (though, I will say that getting married and then finishing my undergrad was the best thing I ever did – 2nd semester I wasn’t married, 3rd semester I was. Enormous, positive difference. But, I digress.), is that I understand the value of time. I wonder what in the world I did with all of those undergrad hours? Now, with 3 rambunctious boys, a busy husband, 3 dogs, and occasional theater obligations, I know how full life can be. And I know that a person can do what she wants in her life and not go crazy. The trick is only doing things that one is passionate about (obviously, this advice does not apply to the daily maintenance kinds of things – I’ve met very few people who are passionate about cleaning around their toilets), and exercising every day.

How would I describe my life right now? Overflowing, in the very best sense of the word. Is my house clean? Mostly. But it isn’t spotless; not even close (though I do try to keep the toilets clean – living with 4 males, that’s no easy task). Are my kids well fed, decently clothed, learning and thriving? Yes. Do my dogs need more attention? Certainly, but they, too, are well fed, have warm, dry beds, and the company of their own kind. I do exercise every day. My husband is moderately well fed, and he feeds me, too. In fact, we all feed one another; like good actors in a well made play, we give and take energy in a way that helps the whole family remain dynamic.

I’ve stopped trying to figure out what I’m going to be when I grow up – I don’t have to pigeon-hole myself in that way, and so I choose not to do so. I’ll follow the paths that I like, and reject those that rob me or my family of energy, hope, and faith. What else can any individual person do?