Week 26/52: Hiatus Explained

Wow....Those words have never rang so true for me as they do at this moment.

I see life in pictures. I stay behind a lens of some sort more often than not, and, for me, the hundreds of thousands of photos I take mark moments in time. Today is the first time in quite some time that I've downloaded my photo memory card...from my camera or my phone. Having to look through, edit, and catalog my pictures, for me, meant having to deal with and accept one of the greatest, most tragic losses our family has ever had to endure.

My pictures, they didn't foreshadow that. Those little still frames drew me back to the emotion of each day, and there was no warning that our lives would change so severely in the blink of an eye. Even the absence of pictures on that day bring back considerable emotion and acknowledgement that, for me, there was no joy to capture through my lens. The past six and half weeks have been excruciatingly difficult as our family has dealt with and continues to deal with the untimely loss of my brother-in-law, but tonight I chose to take  a step toward healing that may seem odd to others. Tonight I chose to catalog my photos.

I downloaded pictures. I edited them. I cried. I catalogued them, and then I shared them with others. It felt good to touch something that brings me such immense joy. I have a passion for catching those still, small moments that tell a story, and going through the images on my devices this evening was no exception. After posting for 18 weeks, I felt as though some explanation was due as to the lengthy hiatus. I've been away to grieve, to process, to deal. And, while that process is still raw and incomplete, I have traveled far enough to realize that I need the joy that the click of my shutter brings.

So, with that, my Project 52 is starting back up. My next post will be next week, and I plan to tackle some things that I was toying with back at the end of April. I have no great comments and no great insights this evening, so I leave you with the words of Dr. Seuss (one of the wisest I know), "You will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory".

Melissa