10/01/2018
I went to a funeral for one of my favorite people yesterday. Let me just say that it was so nicely done - and pictures I’d taken a few years ago were everywhere. It was rough, but we all got through it. It’s hard to see the reminders of a life too quickly taken away, but they are also reminders of so many good times getting to spend time with a “soul” friend - you meet these people along the way and you have a common language that you speak. Even if you don’t speak for a while, you have hour long conversations when you run into them and it’s just like old times. I must say, I am a better photographer because of Julie. I was a better teacher because I loved going to work to laugh and try to mentor this young person and have those soul talks that help you get to the next point in your life. Then I got to meet her family. I had her brother in class for three of his four years (and laughed and nerded out about technology), visited with her mom in the grocery store (where she encouraged me along in my pregnancy and other things I was going through), and eventually got to take senior pics of her brother and sister too (who are both proudly serving our county). Julie came to visit a few times after Hazel was born and her mama gave Hazel a hand-me-down picnic table that she still loves to this day. I am forever grateful for this experience with this family because they have helped, they have encouraged, they have given me humor, kindness, and most of all, the experience of friendship, which is the most important. My heart breaks when I see these pics, but I will treasure them, because they are a part of a wonderful bit of my history - one that has made me better and one that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
