The Table Cloth

Fifteen years ago, I put a taupe colored

twin sheet and a set of sharpies

on my Thanksgiving table.

At that time,

our family consisted of just our two boys

and the baby girl kicking around inside me.

My goal was to have everyone in attendance

sign the table cloth with just their name

and a sentiment of the holiday

and then repeat that process every year

until the cloth was full.

I had no idea what a cherished thing

this table cloth would become.

There are signatures on our table cloth

from people whose paths crossed ours,

people who shared a meal and a holiday with us,

people we love and remember with a smile,

people who were only in our lives for a season

and signed our table once

and people who are still present at most of

our holiday meals whose signatures can be seen

over and over again.

There are signatures from people who are

no longer with us on this earth,

leaving behind an outline of their hand

and a few words of kindness.

On the years when our holiday table only had

five or six chairs,

that table cloth reminded us

that we were connected to so many other people

who loved us

even from afar.

If one were to take the time
to read all of the messages on the table cloth
one would find words of longing
from years when David was deployed
and then joyous words written on holidays
when he had returned.

One would read well wishes sent to far flung family
and words of gratitude for
a full house of celebrators.

There are expressions of welcome
to new family members
and warm wishes from old friends.


That table cloth holds fifteen years of life,
love, family and friends.

Some of the words bring tears to my eyes.
There is an entry from Zachary
when he was about 9 years old
that says, "I love the Lord"
and there is a tiny outline of Madison's little baby hand.

There is a message from my dear friend Trudy
that was written a lifetime ago
about the pain of being separated,
but the joy of memories held close to our hearts.

Some entries make me smile
like the year we signed our name
making it known that we were
the first place winners of the neighborhood
Christmas decorating contest
and the many signatures of kids that we love so much
who are now grown up
with little ones of their own.



This table cloth is more than a tradition for me.
It is evidence of a life of togetherness
and being connected
no matter where we were in the country.
Evidence that time flies and
we cannot hold any one thing forever.
Evidence that change is inevitable and is much easier when
gratefully accepted.
Evidence that all things really do work out for good
and that too much time is wasted on fear and doubt.
Evidence of family in the form of friends who we
shared our lives with over the years
and evidence of friends in the form of family
with whom we share a heritage.
It is a reminder that we were never alone
even when we felt like we were.
A reminder that we have led and are leading
full lives,
and that what matters most in this life
is opening yourself up
to others and fully embracing them
while you have them.
Whether they sign your table cloth or
leave love notes on your heart,
the friends and family
that God places in each of our lives are
precious, precious gifts!

Shockingly fun

My family is so over my photographs.

They really are.

I can see the "OK now I've got to act interested in catchlights

and composition" look when I ask them

to come and see a client session

that I've just edited.

They just don't get it.

They don't speak my language.

But I really can understand this because

I don't speak my husband's or son's language

when it comes to football either.

I do love the sport and I enjoy

watching key games and cheering as loudly

as the next person,

but to spend two or three whole months of

Saturdays on the couch watching

game after game after game

while so many other things are going on

around town

or being stuck to the phone updates

when you are dragged out of the house.....

well, that's just not my language.

Madison is emersed in her own photography,

so unless she is telling me that I need

to up the contrast on one of my photos,

she'd rather spend her free time pouring over the

1.5 million photographs that she has of herself and her friends.

I get that too.

She's 14 and her own little world

is all there is right now.

What I don't get though is

how shocked my own family members are

that my photo sessions are actually fun events

to participate in.

They've seen my smile upon returning home from a shoot.

They've heard me tell stories of funny things that happened.

They've even acted like they've heard me when they ask,

"How was the shoot mom?" and

I answer back, "It was soooo fun!"

For Thanksgiving this year,

we had my brother and his family in town.

Jeremy and Ashley have the only other grandchildren

on my side of the family,

so I could not pass up the opportunity

to do a shoot while everyone was together.

Trying to get everyone excited,

I pushed the shoot for a week before the event.

It had to take place on Thanksgiving afternoon

because of flight schedules,

so I heard alot about how stressful it was gonna be

right smack in the middle of cooking chaos,

but I insisted that this shoot MUST happen.

I told them that the resulting images from a shoot like this

would be well worth any stress that they anticipate happening.

We put the turkey and everything else in a holding pattern

and off we went.

It seemed fitting that we were doing the shoot

at an abandoned mental hospital.

Upon arrival,

I arranged everyone for the group shots and

snapped away.

Before long everyone was laughing and joking

and having the best time.

I was able to get some excellent shots of my mom and all

of her grandchildren gathered around her.

These are memories that she will cherish for many years to come.

I took a few of Ashley, Jeremy, Zane and Easton too.

I was even able to hand the camera to Jeremy and

let him take a few of our family with me in them.

Upon leaving, my boys kept saying

over and over again how much fun they had.

They sounded surprised that this was not a torturous event.

My husband even told me that he had more fun than he expected.

My mom was thrilled with the shoot and had a good time as well.

I don't know what they thought

my shoots were like

or why most of them thought that this would be a stressful

frustrating afternoon,

but I'm glad they were able to experience

a laid back, natural, fun session with me.

So now they know what I do

and why I love it so much....

even if I still can't get them to sit down

and let me show them a client session

without seeing them roll their eyes

or heaving a big sigh of dread.

Here are some highlights

from our {apparently} shockingly fun family session:

My mom and all her grandkids!

My grandmother and
all of the great grandkids from her daughter Joyce's kids.
My cousin Leah has the other two greats.

My favorite from the shoot...

Ashley and Jeremy.

My three men all together!

Our oldest three.

My favorite of our kids.
This is such a precious photograph

to me because Zach lives in Seattle

and I can't see this everyday in real life.

The family shot!

Another good one of the six of us.

And finally one of David and I.

I've got lots of ordering to do from this shoot!

Beyond the images,

the memories of the time we spent together

as a family laughing and having fun

will be held close to my heart

for a long, long time.