Of course I keep up with my photo 52 challenge though! Week seven's theme was "ordinary." This was the first theme that I really didn't like at all. That's one out of 59 weeks of themes that I didn't like... pretty good!!
It's just me though... I have a hard time identifying things as ordinary. I'm frequently very excited over things most people would find quite ordinary, and that's fun. I regularly crack myself up over such ordinary things, which somehow translate in hilarious ways to me. And I've been known to wax philosophical at length about commonplace things like beans and rice, which I find quite beautiful. None of it seems ordinary.
Thing is, whenever I actually find myself thinking of things as ordinary, or have a blah sort of mindset, that means I'm off somehow - my enthusiasm is off, which isn't good. After all, this is one thing that, even through so many years of heartbreak, has kept me sane and engaged in life... finding amusement and/or joy in the most so-called ordinary of things.
So this theme was tough, but not in the beneficially challenging way of many other themes we do. You know though, that's okay. While it was noticeably strange to me to not feel at all engaged with it - to just wish I could skip over it to the next week - that is really to the great credit to the other 58 themes we've done! Besides, other people enjoyed it - so that is very cool!
Anyhow, here it is - my ordinary. In the end, I just needed a photo and just happened to have a glass of water on the table next to me - and the light was really nice, so I snapped and posted... and moved on to thrilling, which I already had taken.
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| Week 7 of Photo 52: Ordinary* |
As for week eight... here it is - my beloved and talented nephew - thrilling!
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| Week 8 of Photo 52: Thrilling |
Anyhow, this past weekend, R and I traveled down to Milwaukee to do a show (R's business) and I got to spend time with family and friends. Big, big bonus - I got to see my nephew earn his High Brown Belt! It's the first time I got to watch either of my niblings actually perform in their activities - it was a thrill for me, and a thrill for my nephew to get his next belt. He's such a cool kid! I like this kid an awful lot!
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Meanwhile, my beloved and talented niece was down in Kentucky for a dance competitions, so I didn't get to see her or sis-in-law. Hopefully I'll get to see niece perform one of these days too - she's quite the dance star!
By the way, I'm intentionally not commenting about how much I wish certain things could be different, though it's hard to refrain - especially after spending time with darling nibling that I'm so proud of! There's always a lot of bittersweet there. But does anyone care to hear such lamenting anymore? It's no one's fault that I can't have what I can't have, so why hash it over repeatedly.
Now just convince my head and heart of that.
Hmmmmm - by commenting about not commenting about it, I guess I just commented on it. Whoopsies!!
With love,
HJ
I thought the same thing about your water photo--the simplest, most ordinary is really so very extraordinary and life-giving. It's funny, though, that's what made me like the theme. It's as if there is actually no such thing. Which is pretty cool. :-) Love your niblings.
ReplyDeleteI love things like this... just such different perspectives on a similar feeling! It's so interesting to me!! For me I think it's that I object to the word - if ordinary isn't really ordinary, then I feel like I'm downgrading and disrespecting it by calling it that. I'd rather photograph something that one might consider ordinary -- but call it something else that respects it's extraordinariness. :-) Funny, huh!
DeleteDo you remember Evelyn P. from church? She has always been one who, when someone refers to "plain vanilla", feels compelled to object on the grounds that vanilla is a very complex chemical structure, and is, in reality, ANYTHING but plain. ;-) I love her.
DeleteHa ha!! Yes - I loved Evelyn too!! I really appreciated her wisdom - and her way of seeing things differently and ability to communicate it. And though chocolate is the best flavor of ice cream - like, ever - I totally agree w/ her about vanilla!! For a pie topping, nothing beats a good vanilla! And for baking - a good, pure vanilla... mmm - nothin' like it!! Not plain, at all!! :-)
DeleteI also love that you don't mind this sort of difference in opinion - and that you seem to appreciate it. :-)