WELCOME!


This blog follows a bit of our personal and professional life, and features images from weddings and portrait sessions we've done, the places we traveled, and the adventures of our combined family-life. It's basically an ever-changing photo album combined with an information source for current and potential clients. Thanks for visiting!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Traveling Back While Journeying Forward

There are many people who'd rather visit the dentist than attend a high school class reunion.  Are you one of those folks?

I suppose I used to be like this, to some degree.  The older I become though, the more I realize the value in opening up to the past to see what could transpire for the future.

I recently had the opportunity to attend an informal women's luncheon, a gathering of eight former classmates, which was advertised on Facebook for anyone still living in the area.  I jumped at the chance, not only because I enjoy continued friendship with a few of my classmates, but also because I know it's good for me to invest in myself; to get away from household obligations and dozens of other reasons that keep me from investing in relationships.

At some point in my adult life, I must have chosen to open my mind and more importantly, my heart, to a review of what I'd thought to be the reality of those years gone by.  I was never one of those kids with throngs of friends, one of those chosen eagerly for teams and group activities.  I know now that that was really of my own doing, for I was quite shy and often chose to take a back seat whenever possible.  I don't know if others saw me this way, but I'd always believed myself to be a shy, loner type.

Age and maturity afforded me the grace to overcome such shyness, and it was, and is, a truly freeing experience.  Shyness is a form of suffering, really (and we all suffer from something, in one form or fashion).

But I digress -- the point here is that once I'd made up my mind to stop thinking about myself, and to instead focus my attention and curiosity on what makes so-and-so tick, who they are, discovering their special joys or disappointments - then I came to see how joyful it is to know so many that I might have otherwise easily dismissed, never to mix with again.

Everyone is so beautifully different and yet so wonderfully the same!



Seeing through to the core of a person, to their heart really, is not so difficult.  And this is why I get such pleasure from meeting my classmates again - to be re-introduced to the true person outside of the former, narrower definitions of my own creation.

The best part of all this - that they too seem to have grown into maturity (go figure!)  That they too are willing to listen, to hear, to share a smile, an encouragement, and to celebrate our lives together with all their twists and turns.

Each of the ladies I've become reacquainted with is so wonderfully made.  Such beautiful souls.  I treasure knowing all of you and I look forward to moving into our latter years knowing that our shared experiences, past and present, are a bond we'll always have.  A springboard for further exploration of who we are as individuals, as the glorious women that we've become.

Much love,
V.

[Wakeen Photography photographs reunions of all types.  If you or someone you know are planning such a gathering, contact us directly for details and to check available dates.]