But sometimes we have to. Case in point:

My oldest daughter and her 11-year old daughter have moved in with us. A rather long move as Kentucky is quite a ways from Pennsylvania. 

I’ve heard that history repeats itself and there might be a sliver of truth to that adage as I moved from Kentucky 36 years ago. 

My wife and I had discussed the move with Whitney a few months ago and we knew there would be major changes. 

Claudia is back to school (sixth grade) and Whitney starts a new job soon. It appears things are going pretty smooth, so far.

I’m still adjusting, as I’m sure my wife is and our mini panther Shadow, and Whitney, and Claudia, and their dog Eerbee. We’re all pretty much in new territory. 

We change, but time never changes, it’s the only thing that remains the same. How does this relate to my daughter moving in with us? Time waits for no one, so I best start making better progress at adjusting to being outnumbered 3 to 1. 

It’s been over 2 years since I had my last physical. I have no excuses for not taking better care of myself. But for the sake of argument I’ll say it’s aging.

Reaching a certain pinnacle in my life - Age 65 - brought this one simple fact to bear: I have less years ahead than those behind. That’s a truth all of us must face. 

For my English Writing major in college I had to take a course in Critical Theory, and within that course are various authors and movements in writing, one such author was Jean-Paul Sartre who wrote extensively about the theory of existentialsim.  Perhaps it was Sartre’s views on life that triggered my thoughts about the meaning, purpose, and value of my existence on this Pale Blue Dot.  

Age 65 set off a spark in my brain that kind of ignited the thought that since I had less years in front than behind, why should I “waste” time and money on prolonging something that was sure to happen anyway - my death. Morbid subject that it may seem to most of us, death is unavoidable. 

I’m 68-years old and two weeks ago the results from my first physical since 2021 showed that I had hypetension. But my bloodwork tests showed pretty normal results, which really surprised me. My doctor recommended a few ultra-sound tests to look and see if the hypertension has caused any blood vessel issues, and I’m on meds for the high BP that’s now a lot lower than it was the day of my visit. 

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) said “Before you come alive, life is nothing; it’s up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing else but the meaning that you choose.” I’ve decided to choose joy, peace, and caring for others as highly valuable aspects to the meaning of life. And I must also add caring a little bit more about myself has now become more valuable as well. 

Wedding photo edits, my first bridal shower photo gig and now editing those, and my oh my I’ve been busy! 

I’ve not had time, or more likely, didn’t allocate it for my website. I did manage to upload a few new flower photos so be sure to visit my Bloom & Grace Gallery. 

Speaking of flowers, I haven’t been too pleased with the Baker Creek Heirloom seeds I ordered and planted. I’m not sure if it was the seeds or me not holding my head at the right angle when I planted them. Regardless, I’ll probably be ordering from a different catalog next spring. 

I plan on getting back to shooting some landscape/waterfall photos as soon as possible. After these bridal shower photos are edited, I don’t have another wedding venue gig till November, and it’s the reception, not the wedding. (They wouldn’t fly me to Florida to shoot the wedding. 😂)

Has it been a busy summer for y’all? Let me know in a reply!