I toyed with the idea of a photography show intermittently for a couple years, but something always stopped me. I couldn’t imagine working up the courage to approach someone about showing my work. I wasn’t sure my work was good enough.
I was scared – scared of both failure and success.
Then one day in the middle of a conversation with the owner of a coffee shop that I just adore, I took a deep breath and then blurted out a question that was something along the lines of “how do you select artists for your exhibits?” I can’t remember exactly how I asked, I could hear my pulse in my ears. But I chose well; the person I asked was one of the nicest people I know. By the end of the conversation, I had a show booked for October, nine months away at that time.
Of course, there was quite a bit of work left to do, but I managed to get it all done, and showed up October first to hang 25 pieces with the help of my unpaid intern:
she was a lot of help. [ahem]
I can’t express what it felt like to see my work up on the walls.
Even better, we had a reception for the exhibit, with live music, a wine tasting, tasty bites, and my friends showed up to support me. I had so much fun that I didn’t take any pictures during the party, and that never happens. I will always remember that party – especially when I think about doing something that scares me. To top it all off, I sold a bunch of pictures, too.
I don’t like peas. I would almost go so far as to say that I hate peas. Well, not really. I can appreciate them in theory, I know they’re healthy, I just really, really don’t want to eat them.
But…
As a mom, I don’t want to pass along my pea issues to my kiddo. How do I give her opportunities to make up her own mind about peas without inadvertently influencing or limiting her own ability to enjoy them? I want her to like them, but it’s difficult not to shudder in their presence.
Well, true to form, my kid finds a way to make being her mom easy. (Yes, I know the teenage years are coming, and no I’m not prepared.)
She is completely enamored with the little garden out back at our favorite coffee shop, C & P Coffee Company. She loves to inspect and name off the different plants: rosemary, oregano, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, and, yes, peas. She doesn’t just name them, she works her way through that tiny garden like a little rabbit, munching away on strawberries and lettuce, and, yes, peas. (she tried the rosemary and oregano, as well. Once.)
This little garden makes it easy for me to get excited and show some enthusiasm for the peas. I love the flowers,
and I just can’t get enough of those curly tendrils.
And as I’m ooh-ing and ah-ing over these beautiful plants, getting lost in the moment with my camera, my precious little girl reaches up and hands me a baby pea as though she were giving me a gift. I couldn’t turn it down, so I ate it. And it wasn’t that bad.
