If you know me, you know that I usually have my camera on me. I am always taking pictures of my kids, loved ones, the outdoors, you name it. Photography is a hobby/passion of mine, and living at the beach, I've been snapping away like a madwoman.
Recently, Kaleb and I took our dog, Amber on an evening walk in our backyard. We decided to head over to the beach, because, why not... it's the beach :-)! We ended up walking a while, and then sitting together, building a sandcastle, digging for "treasure" (a.k.a shells) and watching the sun set, while Amber rested in the sand beside us. We had so much fun! But I felt really disappointed that I hadn't thought to bring my camera. I so wanted to capture this moment. The lighting was perfect, the sun was setting, the waves were crashing, and Kaleb was smiling and laughing. I began to feel frustrated that I hadn't thought to grab my camera. I even said aloud, "Man I wish I had my camera!" Kaleb responded, "Oh, here you go Mom!" He proceeded to hand me big clump of sand. "It's my camera!" he said proudly. I smiled and took the "camera" and he threw his arm around me and said, "Say cheese Mom!" We smiled and posed together for the pretend camera, and after Kaleb's sound effect "click", he wanted to review the picture we had just taken. He held up the clump of sand, looked at it, and said "perfect!". And it was perfect. It taught me that sometimes I get so caught up in capturing the moment on film, that I don't fully enjoy the actual moment! From then on, I relaxed and forgot about how great it would be to photograph our outing on the beach, and actually enjoyed LIVING it.
