Trust Fall
Once again, Captain Awesome and I have set out on another journey together. I had no idea when I married him the adventure I was in for…oh, not in the slightest. We left home, our family and took a four year waltz across the East coast traveling North to South in search of some mythical unicorn. And while there have been some great experiences; my first snow, my Fromagis, reconnecting with my long lost love – my art, and creating new friendships (my other favorite kind of creation), there has also been struggle. (Awesome would say that I’ve become resilient. And sometimes those words make me want to punch him in the face!) But through those struggles, I have learned some surprising things about myself; like how I can have the entire house packed up in less than 2 weeks and put back together in 2 days. There should be a game show for that kind of talent. I’ve also learned, with the departure into unchartered waters, we find we lean more on each other, making our marriage and friendship stronger.
And through all this discovery, each action further defines the notion that everything does indeed happen for a reason. Perhaps all of this moving around was to bring us to this very spot. The spot where we just put an offer on a house in a new state…once again. But this time with PURPOSE and INTENT. It was time to gravitate toward a place that fits who we are at this stage in our lives instead of following that carrot around to un-glamourous places. Why does the AF always find the most uninteresting places to set up shop?
The goal is simplicity. For life. For enjoyment. For happiness. For a LONG time. And while the sellers unfortunately passed up our offer on the house, we have to hope that another better and more suited place lies around the corner waiting to jump out and surprise us.
Ultimately the journey is not about the destination. Each moment of disappointment is an opportunity for character building. Each rejection either strengthens our resolve or forces us to question our needs versus our wants. The entire experiences challenges us to better communicate, listen, trust each other, and compromise for the good of the whole. And it’s these little moments that make it all worthwhile.
For this life isn’t waiting for us, it’s happening now.
Original Posting - May 2017
So much has happened since I created this piece. Trust Fall continues to be a reminder that we are exactly where we are supposed to be. It took some unexpected twists and turns to get to this point. The road ahead is still paved with mystery. But I find a sense of peace in the unknown. The beauty is in how we perceive, respond, believe and move forward in spite of it all.
Interested in adding Trust Fall to your collection?
Behind the Scenes of Trust Fall
As with most ideas that sit brewing in my head, eventually they find a way to burst out. But this one in particular created a bit of a conundrum, for this piece required very specific timing and one that I was not capable of doing myself with my remote control or my timer. I needed to call in a friend. Or in this case, Captain Awesome…then a friend.
For those not intimately acquainted with the delicate features of the camera, merely hitting the shutter can be an exercise in futility – for Awesome manhandled my poor camera. The camera, on a tripod, placed near the water’s edge in soft and squishy sand created the perfect storm for a blurry image. And it happened again and again before I realized, after the fourth plunge backwards into the water that I needed to employ a softer hand.
In comes Brittany, visiting after a wedding in Pensacola. She majored in photography, at the same school only 8 years later. And after her amazing help with The Other Side, I knew I could count on her gentle touch to provide the sharper image my mind required.
So that particular day, with storm clouds looming in the distance, we set out for the bay armed with swimsuits, the usual camera gear, towels, a trash bag or “raincoat” for my camera, and my trusty stepladder named Rosie. The water in this part of the bay is roughly only 3 feet deep, complete with wandering hermit crabs. So after wading out, setting up the ladder in the appropriate spot and clearing the sand of any crustaceans, we were ready to give this a good college try. Take Two!
I’d like to think this happened on the first shot, but that’s never quite the case. Each respective jump took precision in timing; most importantly the first click at the top of the jump to (hopefully) catch the moment before impact. I believe the final image resulted from the fourth jump. But some of these behind the scenes shots are just as amusing as the final piece.
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