Category: Rambling

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Blog Children Family Pets Portrait Sessions Rambling Self-exploration

The Hiccup in My Brain

Pano of the portrait garden

I woke up this morning different. As always with me in February, I begin to get a little moody. I’ve always blamed it on the lack of sunshine or of being outside less often. If I don’t watch myself, I begin to care less about the things that are important to me; I begin just passing time.

As the temperature fell be a degree or two, I looked out the window and began to see the heavy raindrops turn to sleet and then, to snow. And as the snowflakes fell lightly to the ground, it seemed as though something in my thinking seemed lighter, maybe fresher? By the time I got to work, I felt entirely different from the day before. I was making lists and looking forward to the weekend. I was planning my next craft project and looking forward to making dinner tonight.

How is it that a little snow could change my whole attitude? Am I so shallow that it took an abrupt change in the weather’s pattern to shift my perspective? Why do I feel so useless, at times, when trying to gain the upper hand with my emotions?

Change, whether good or bad, can be construed as positive, in that it opens up our mind to possibilities that we couldn’t contrive before. What I experienced this morning was a simple jump start for my brain. I’m sure I could have found other ways to achieve this, such as taking my dog for a walk or visiting a sick neighbor.

Bertrand Russell said, “In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth: will you not be aware of it?”

IMG_0692
Avoiding work
Pano of the portrait garden
Pano of the portrait garden
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Blog Rambling Running/Recreation Self-exploration Workshops, Seminars & Talks

Nothing off the chopping block

I began running today. I’ve run plenty of other times, in fact most of my life I’ve run for recreation and leisure, but I had taken a hiatus.  I run for so many reasons. Because my pants feel tight, because I feel blue or maybe I feel “blah.” I run when I feel a little under the weather or if I’m cramping. I run to clear my head or to help me solve a problem. I run to feel the wind on my face and the sun on my shoulders.

But because I’m going through this process of “deconstructing” my life in order to put it back together better, I stopped doing many of the things I became so used to doing just because I’d always done them. The running, to me, had become symbolic of my life. Because I mindlessly cruise through my day like a hamster on its wheel, success was tied to how many “things” I could check off my list, not the meaningful interludes with people.

I was a lot like Bill Murray’s character in the movie, “Groundhog Day,” a weatherman who grudgingly travels to Punxsutawny Pennsylvania to cover Punxsutawny Phil, the groundhog. He finds the job to be beneath him, and is even more upset when he’s snowed in that night. Instead of going home the next day, though, the weatherman wakes up to find it’s the same morning of the day before. And, only he seems to know the day is a repeat. This happens morning after morning when he realizes there are no lasting consequences to his actions. Whether it’s overeating or acting like a jerk that day, it’s forgiven the next morning when he gets to live it all over again. He quickly finds this life to be a lonely one, and so to improve himself and, hopefully, “get the girl,” his outlook on life begins to change. He takes piano lessons, learns French, becomes an ice sculptor, but most importantly, he becomes a student of the people in the town he comes in contact with each day. As his focus is drawn from the inside out, he becomes a happier person and more attractive to those around him.

If I’m going to spend much time on an activity, I don’t want it to be a completely selfish and wasteful endeavor. If I’m trying to live more purposely, should something I ordinarily do by myself face the chopping block? As I run, I think about how basic, how elemental it is. By simply throwing on a t-shirt and sweats, stepping out my back door, and doing something I love, I can feel more passionately about the things that are important to me. Living my life more simply with less stress, I’m hoping to see through all my busyness to the things that really matter.

So, I’ll keep running, especially if it helpsIMG_0347 me do the things I love with the people I love for as long as I can!

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Blog Children Family Rambling Self-exploration

Taking inventory

Instead of setting some goals for myself this year, I decided to take stock of my life. With everything I do, I ask myself why am I doing this? What is my main motivation? For instance, I might ask myself why am I cleaning the house today? No one is making me, so why do it? Is this really all I have to do today? It’s not like there’s bacteria growing under and between things. It’s not that I enjoy it that much. Do I do it because it’s expected of me? If someone sees it dirty, what might they think of me? This is the dialogue I have with myself a lot lately, and I’m not liking hearing what I’m saying.

If my main motivation of doing anything is to keep up this facade, this perfect person I want to display to the world, how will I ever know the real person inside? You might argue that becoming a better person is a good motivator. But, what if that ambition to be a better this or a better that makes us blind to how we’ve manipulated those around us? Getting what we want, in essence, has stolen away some really great relationships. Returning to the cleaning house analogy, what if I kept the cleanest house in town, but I’ve distanced my family, because I got mad every time something was set out of place?

I’m reminded of the question that brought me here. Why don’t I enjoy life more? Is it because I’ve filled it with a lot of things I think need to get done.
How many of us go through the day checking things off a list. How many of us have grown weary because we’ve followed the same list for so long? Grocery shopping on Monday, Bible study on Wednesday, date night with hubby on Friday, try to impress the boss today, make this month’s budget in order to have something to put in college fund, and so on and so forth. All those things are really good, but if we’re doing the same things the same way all the time, we could forget why we’re doing them. Have we forgotten that every day is a blessing, and we have some latitude as to which way it should go. You say you’ve never been good at navigation?
How about daydreaming? But isn’t that a waste of time. Try telling that to Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale, Albert Einstein or Adele? All admit to daydreaming. So, what’s stopping you, except for that careful plan you laid out for yourself. You better be careful; life might pass you by.

This week I’m looking at the book of Ecclesiastes, and here’s what King Solomon, the smartest man ever had to say about life, “I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered.”

A better question to ask myself before doing anything might be, “Does this have any eternal value? Or does this simply help make me a busy person?”
In the words of King Solomon, (I’m paraphrasing here) “It’s not the end of the world. Don’t sweat it!”

DCA_057a

Middlebrook

Let us raise our flags together in unity.

Golden Retriever and winner of the "Awesomest Dog in the Universe" Award frolics in bluebonnets.

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Blog Rambling Self-exploration

My love affair

The road less traveled
Family picture
Family picture
Broad horizon
Broad horizon
The road less traveled
The road less traveled

You don’t have to worry, I still love my husband very much. I’m beginning to wonder, though, if I love myself more. A lot more! You see, I’ve been casually observing the thoughts that run through my head, and it would seem I am obsessed with myself. From the time I wake up in the morning to when I fall asleep, I’m primarily concerned with how to promote MY agenda. You’d think with all this self-preference, I’d be a truly happy person, and I am…generally. When I think about all the ways God has blessed me with a beautiful, healthy family, I get all warm and fuzzy inside. That is until I let that obsessive and ineffective chattering inside my head get the better of me.

Being more mindful of my thoughts has made me aware of how much time I spend either thinking about the past or worrying about the future. This, at the detriment of not fully living life now, as it’s happening. It seems that I’m constantly living in fast-forward, anticipating what will happen next. I look forward to the holiday season each year. There are so many different reasons to love this time of year. It’s a time that we can lay aside our busy schedules and enjoy being with each other. All the smells and tastes remind me of wonderful Christmases I’ve enjoyed since childhood. It’s like we insulate ourselves in a cocoon of sharing and warmth. It’s a perfect occasion designed for “living in the present.” But this year, if I’m truly honest with myself, my expectations fell flat. Did I plan and stress so much about what would happen, that whatever was going to happen was destined to fail? I’m reminded of this quote by Hemingway, “Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?” I’m more acutely aware of this state of mind when given my current age.

This year will be a year of change for me. This is the year I pray and meditate, and stop allowing my thoughts to get the better of me. I don’t expect that I’ll stop becoming angry, resentful, jealous or any other negativity. But, hopefully, they’ll come more slowly, so that I can recognize it when it comes and meet it with a response rather than a reaction.

The following verses I plan to meditate on this week:

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

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Blog Family Portrait Sessions Rambling Weddings

Photographer Needed

When people find out that our oldest, Jessica, is getting married, invariably one of the questions they ask is, “Who’s going to be the photographer?” Her father will be walking her down the aisle, after all. But, before we ever get to that point, Greg’s been able to do for her what he’s done for so many other brides over the past twenty five years. Because, what many brides want nowadays is the whole experience caught on camera, not just the wedding.

Jessica is fortunate to have a wonderful fiancee who recognizes the importance of capturing life’s moments on camera, big and little. So, they have pictures of the moment he proposed atop a mountain in Utah. Since then, we’ve taken many more of their story together. Some for the “Save the Date” cards, some more of their engagement, and a few in between. There will undoubtedly be many taken on the actual wedding day. Most of these Greg will take, but we’re not sure who’ll be taking pictures during the actual ceremony. The album we layout for a newly married couple is very appropriately called a “Storybook.” Here’s a small montage of Jessica and Grant’s story so far. patterson_9822_nocrop 700_9740 700_8927a photo1 photo5photo1

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Blog Graduating Seniors Portrait Sessions Rambling

A First Look

We like to post some of the images we take of a particular subject as often as we can. They ask for it and, well, it’s good publicity for us! Here’s some of my top picks from just a few of the senior “casual” sessions. We call them casual, because they’re not wearing their graduation gown, or their tux or drape if they’re going in the NHS yearbook. But, don’t they look casual? After all, for a senior session, what we hope will come across in their images is their true sel. 700_5986 Baker_011 PT Norbert_052 Payne_063 PT Young_049 PT

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Blog Children Family Portrait Sessions Rambling

So, What Have We Lost?

While perusing new book titles on Amazon I saw one that caught my attention. What could a book titled “The End of Absence” be about? I wondered. The first thing I thought of was that the opposite of absent is present, right? So, was this another self-improvement book about how to stay present? I didn’t need to read another one of those, but I had to know what was “ending” exactly. I wasn’t intrigued enough to pay to read the book, but I did read a few reviews. Here’s the gist of what I got from a few of them.

fun in the portrait garden
fun in the portrait garden

The author describes the society that we’re in now as one being void of any new or creative thoughts. Because of the internet, we’ve allowed Google to do our thinking for us. We drag ourselves out of bed each morning to see what’s new on Facebook and end the day by checking our email one last time. And, in between, we’ve posted any number of pictures and videos, some our own, some we share.
Do we remember as youngsters daydreaming while looking out the window? Or, how about imagining that a cloud looks like an elephant? Does today’s generation have time for getting lost in their thoughts?
But, before getting too lost in this sentimental journey, I recall how I reminisced with an old friend I’d just reconnected with on Facebook. And, that recipe I got from a blogger in Canada was really good. I’ve gained so much through digital technology, it’s hard to imagine life without it anymore.
In fact, I can’t pinpoint exactly what we’ve lost, except our childhood. For those of us who are middle-aged, we tend to feel nostalgic about the simple joys of rolling in the grass or splashing in rain puddles. We wonder why our kids want to spend more time on the computer than they do outside. The next generation will feel the same way when they remember the first digital diary they created from a family vacation or come across the first selfie they ever took.
I’m going to pass on this book; it won’t tell me much I don’t already know about the growing number of hours we spend on the internet. I’ll try to spend that time instead by staying close to the people I love. And, if that’s through Facebook or Skype, so be it.

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Blog Events News Rambling

It’s always sunny in Nacogdoches

Daryl working with one of our many HS Seniors
Just another day...
Just another day…

 

We have to say goodbye to a longtime friend and co-worker Daryl Sparks today.

We hired Daryl within a year of moving into the renovated frat house, and he’s become just as valuable to us as our moving into a new location was ten years ago. You might say that he’s become synonymous with G Patterson Studio & Gallery, and that’s what makes this day a hard one. If not for the fact that he’s leaving us in order to become a speech pathologist (something for which he’s suited if you have to talk a lot), I just might call this a dark day!

He’s helped us with so many promotions and so many jobs, with the Photobooth and the Haunted House, whether it was photographing at a school or sporting event, he was always there with a smile. That’s not easy to find in an employee. He could be fun or serious, quirky or intent all in the same day exactly when you needed him to be.

So, without becoming verbose, I’ll suffice it to say,  “Goodbye, and God bless.”

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Blog Children Graduating Seniors Rambling

School Picture Day

Bicentennial year
5th grade

Traditionally, school pictures were synonymous for “the worst picture I ever took…ever!”  I don’t know if we cringed more at the creepy guy in the leisure suit behind the camera or when we received our school pictures a few weeks later. But, times have changed and so has picture day.  So said a recent high school senior, “That’s the best school picture I ever took. Oh wait, except for my 9th grade picture…but, you took that one, too.” We like school pictures, if only to

Bicentennial year
5th grade
Seniors '15
High School graduate

dispel any misgivings someone might have about having theirs taken. So, in the spirit of having a better attitude about picture day and school in general, let’s see how many school pictures we can post between now and the day school starts!

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Blog Rambling

A Little Kindness

Giftbasket of goodies given by kind client of G. Patterson Studio in Nacogdoches
Giftbasket of goodies given by kind client of G. Patterson Studio in Nacogdoches
Giftbasket of goodies given by kind client of G. Patterson Studio in Nacogdoches
Giftbasket of goodies given by kind client of G. Patterson Studio in Nacogdoches

Let me start by saying our studio has the greatest clients!  And this quick story is just one out of the MANY that helps tell why I feel that way:

I simply did what the client asked me to do.  I put forth my best effort to create the perfect product, all the while offering her the same respect, patience, and kindness that I try to show all of our studio clients.  That’s my job.  That’s what I get paid to do.  But when this particular project was complete, this particular client did not just pay her bill.  She thoughtfully brought me a sizable gift basket full of my favorite goodies, gave me a hug and a sincere Thank You.

I was stunned… moved… happy… proud…thankful.  I took the basket home to tell my wife about the sweet lady who brightened my day with a little kindness.  It might have just been a small gesture on her part, but it meant the world to me.

With our culture of instant gratification and the prevailing tide of the entitlement mentality, KINDNESS is becoming a rare commodity.  Much too frequently is kindness undermined or unrecognized.  But I would be happy to shout at the top of my lungs how appreciative I am of this sweet lady’s kind act.

Thank you Brenda!

And thank you to all the others out there who have brightened our days with your little acts of kindness.  May we all strive to show little acts of kindness to others each day.

How has someone brightened your day?  I’d love to hear your stories.