Window

Can you believe that tummy?

It's the most beautiful time of the year. The trees are simply amazing as the world prepares for winter.

This morning the light fell softly, and the yellows danced with the blue sky.

Every time I saw an amazing scene (just about every block), I felt a sting of sadness - because without my wife by my side the world just isn't as beautiful.

A new comic came out a few days ago. I figured, with my wife out of town, it would be a great time to get caught up on what's going on in the comic world. The new comic, called "Infinite Crisis" from DC, is a great example of what makes comics so spectacular. These two panels are among my favorite in the comic.

The first panel is just incredible. The build-up to that point in the entire comic is brilliant. The heroes, at this point, are basically bickering and fighting among themselves while the rest of the world is at the brink of destruction. It reminds me of the world today. Doesn't it seem like there is just too little inspiration to go around? With so many disasters and so much pain and suffering around the world - what is there left to inspire us? I think there are plenty of people out there who can do that for us, but we don't see them. The news is too busy reporting on the war, or a violent crime, or the latest disasters. Don't get me wrong - reporting on what's bad in the world is important, but when did that become THE most important thing?

And when Batman says "There's always a choice for people like US," I think of my students and how they face so many difficult things in life. Many of them are taken down paths that are dark and will only end with pain. Some, however, find it within themselves to do right, and to do the best to end whatever cycle they find themselves in. They make choices that are for the good of themselves even when the rest of their world is making the wrong choices. I can't imagine the bravery that must take, and it is because of them that I have great hope for this world.

This is what it looks like when you come to our house. This is what Casey has waiting for her when she returns home!

Bravery

My wife is the bravest person I know. She might laugh if I said that and not believe it.

But she is.

Although the beauty of her personality has remained over the years, she has become a completely different person since I first met her.

She could have taken an easy path - one in which she stayed on the safe course in her life, where there was no risk.

Yet over the years she has challenged herself to be a better person. She takes risks, sometimes small and sometimes large, by writing, creating art, and living life fully.

She is a person that feels things more deeply than anyone I know, and because of that, even small things hurt. I think people who don't produce art don't know how much of a risk it really is... how it can hurt when someone passes you by at an art show without giving your work a second glance.

So here she is - inspiring me every day with her magical art and outlook on life. She is capable of more love than I have ever imagined, and I feel grateful that she has chosen me to share it with. She is brave because she took the more difficult path in this life - one filled with risk and a future that we are still shaping.

Today she went out of town to visit a good friend. She has her camera, and I can't wait to see what she finds.

The day is such a blur to me now - all the family and friends, the food and decorations, the nervousness, and then the beauty of the ceremony. I remember momentarily being surrounded by everyone watching us dance, and then I closed my eyes and moved with my wife on the dance floor. I think I realized then that marriage wasn't that big of a deal - that we were in love, and everything was going to be wonderfully the same.

I haven't taken "just for fun" pictures in a while. One of my students is challenging me to get some more stuff done and do darkroom work. This weekend, at the very least, I'll finish a roll of film and try to get back into the "darkroom thing."