As the saying goes, “I wasn’t born in Nacogdoches, but I came as soon as I could.” Greg and I both grew up in Dallas, and my family would often make the short 1 1/2 hr. drive to Tyler State Park to camp out in the summer. And, that’s where I fell in love with the Pineywoods. I often wish for those first summers back when I was a young girl and smelled the fragrance of the pine trees and felt their soft needles under my bare feet. It was lush and brilliant green, and so different from the concrete jungle of MY hometown. Fast forward to now, and I’m so grateful for the steps that brought me here and for the life for which God has privileged me.
I couldn’t write my life story and leave SFA out. It’s been Greg’s employer for the last 29 years; it’s, also, where we each received our degrees. Like so many others, that town that was home to the university to which we came as freshman, eventually became OUR town.
When we were first married, Greg was photographer for the student newspaper, the Pine Log, and I was a student worker in the Computer Science department. Our daughter was born when we lived in the New Raguet Apartments. This was student family housing on the grounds that now belongs to the SFA Charter School. Many afternoons were spent fishing, picnicking, and walking at the Ag Pond. Collegiate sports was comprised of Lumberjack football and Ladyjack basketball and not much else.
It doesn’t take long to grow roots in a town such as Nacogdoches. You spend enough time here weaving common interests with people at your church, in your school, at your job, you can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m reminded of the quote from Our Town, “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it…every, every minute?”
So, here we are again, on the eve of another SFA Homecoming. You’d think after thirty-two of them, they’d become dull. But as I grow older (and wiser), I realize those same things we thought were boring, have become the things that have endeared us to this place. Surprisingly, I’m hoping to attend yet another SFA Homecoming parade. I might even throw up an “Ax’em Jacks.”
2014 Bunnies at Greg Patterson Studio in Nacogdoches.
A Magical Combination…
Since we opened our doors twenty years ago, we’ve had a lot of good ideas come and go. Though our focus has always been to provide lifestyle portraiture that makes you “feel” something, we’ve always tried to keep things fresh and in keeping with today’s trends. Making elaborate sets for one person for one hour was never our style, but could we decorate a set for many clients over a short number of days? We’ve always had great success photographing children, so we began using the holidays as an excuse to do something a little more fun! We began with the Easter holiday and bunnies, because…well, do I really need to explain it? Children with bunnies is a magical combination.
2011 Bunnies at G. Patterson Studio.
There’s a huge element of unpredictability when photographing animals, but that’s what makes for a great photo session! Just when you have all your subjects, both kids and bunnies, looking in the general vicinity of your camera, the bunny hops off. Or, it could be the child scooting out of the scene, because come to find out, they’re afraid of rabbits! Photographing with rabbits, means you’re constantly picking up little pellets that look like their food, but they’re not. And, once, we had a rabbit bite a child, but that was just once. And than, of course, you may have two rabbits acting amorous all of a sudden, and you have to explain that’s just their way of playing, because that’s a conversation better left for the parents to have with them.
They’ve come with many names attached to them, but “Payday” has stuck with me, because of the number of years we used him. He was a beautiful big flop-eared rabbit that was so gentle and not easily spooked. Children would remember him from one Easter to the next, and were always happy to see him. Tracy Steinhauser and her two, Kasy and Keelan, were instrumental in keeping us in stock every Easter. We knew if our rabbits came from them, they’d be groomed and well cared for. Each of our three children were photographed with the bunnies. Our daughter, now 28 years, loved the bunny sessions so much, she even posed as a teen with her best friend and the bunnies. Our sons were a little less enthused. We even acquired a couple rabbits of our own at one point and would allow them to play in the backyard with the cats.
Since that Time…
2013 Bunnies at G Patterson Studio.
Since that time, we’ve had many more of these types of sessions designed around a theme or holiday. We’ve had Santa for Christmas, pumpkins at Halloween, watermelons for Independence Day. For these children’s session we’ve used titles like “Gone Fishin’,” ”Puppy Love,” ”In the Attic,” ”Tea Party,” ”Little Guys in Ties,” and ”Mom & Me,” to name a few.
All of these “mini” sessions over the years serve to create fond memories for us at the studio. Our favorite remembrances, though, come from the sessions with the bunnies. They take a little more time and effort, but they’re always worth it!
Just4Fun is the title we give these specially designed sessions. They’re just for kids and just fifteen minutes long. We provide viewing at the time of your session, and our packages are offered at a discount. If you’re interested in our “Easter Bunnies” Just4Fun session, visit
I’m a student of human behavior, especially when it’s a little peculiar. The people that intrigue me the most are those that are single-minded. I’m not talking about people who prefer to stay single. Nor, am I talking about people who have narrow views. I’m talking about a person that likes one thing so much, they don’t like much else. We all know at least one person like this, a family member, a friend or even a neighbor; but what they all have in common is a laser-like focus on a particular thing. This obsession, which could be a cause, a hobby or, even, a celebrity, leaves the rest of us baffled.
Many single-minded people are worthy of notice, like a scoutmaster I have the privilege of knowing who’s been in charge of our local boy scout Troop 100. He’s served in this position for many years, going on countless campouts, attending workshops, holding meetings, conducting ceremonies and, as we learned at a recent Eagle Award ceremony, overseeing numerous boy scouts as they navigate the waters of earning the rank of Eagle. I’d venture to say his knowledge of scouting and everything Troop 100 is unparalleled.
Although Tim Tindall has passed his baton to another, he still performs unofficially many of the same duties. Recently, Tim took our own boy scout, Nathan, to discover what Eagle Scout project might interest him. As they set off, I hoped that some of Tim’s commitment to service would rub off on our son!
In a time when there is so much to detract us from our focus, it is refreshing to have single-minded people among us. I’ve determined that my interest in them is truly selfish; I want what they have. If I had their same determination, I might keep my New Year’s resolutions for more than a couple of days. How is it that someone can grow their hair an extra twenty inches for “Locks of Love?” Or have the biggest collection of stamps? Or, have the same best friend for their whole life? I want to cry out, “How do I resolve to be more resolved?!”
The other day I found a picture of myself in an old album. It shows me warming up for a run, while my two-year-old is pretending to warm up with me. As I looked fondly at how cute she was, it struck me. That was twenty-six years ago, which means I’ve been running for, at least, that long. I’ve been committed to doing something most people find hard or mundane most of my life! Now, I know this is far from the picture left us by Mother Teresa and her life-long commitment to the poor of Calcutta, but maybe a little single-mindedness can be cultivated. If you’re like me (and you are if your #1 characteristic is ADHD), look below at 9 things you can do to help stay focused on whatever you choose.
Me and Jessica, about to chase the sun!
NINE STEPS to be Single-Minded {focused}
1. Clear the noise. People who focus start by controlling their environment. Set up space that is conducive to the task at hand. Remove everything that’s not helpful to your objective.
2. Create a plan. Have a clear picture of where you’re going and how to get there. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Maybe just a few bullet points in a message.
3. Set up clear compensation. Focused people clearly understand why they’re engaged in a particular activity. Get excited about it by creating a reward for completion to help yourself become accountable and make the task a priority over all other distractions.
4. Create routine. Being disorganized can cause distraction, stress, and inefficiency. Give everything its proper place, so you can be free to deal with things that come up.
5. Work methodically. When you multitask, you accomplish less and what you accomplish is lower quality. Schedule your day to compartmentalize projects so you can give them your complete attention.
6. Live in the now. Be respectful of lessons learned and have a vision of where you’re going, but always be mindful of what’s happening now, the people around you and what they’re saying.
7. No second guessing. Everyone’s different, so don’t confuse someone’s else’s path with your own.
8. Embrace failure. Don’t let a mistake disappoint you for long. Allow it to guide you back to the right path.
9. Learn from others. You may not share the same path, but you can learn the characteristics of successful people. Make a habit of being around them, or you can read a biography about a successful person.
A much younger Greg enjoying a camping trip to Pedernales River.
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?”
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 helps me do the things I love with the people I love for as long as I can!
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!”
I have a plan for everything these days! What I’m gonna fix for dinners for the week, how we’ll spend our weekends for the month, even what I’m going to wear for the next few days. (I don’t want to waste that perfect outfit on work when I could wear it for that lunch date!) I definitely have a plan for our spending for the month. I even have a plan for my plan, call it an agenda or parameters for which I live my life.
I don’t want to be too extravagant with anything I do, but I never want to be too careful, either. Life is short, right?
Something else I like to plan for is how I volunteer my time and money. There are so many causes from which to choose, some you may have a passion for, others you share a political view with and others are affiliated with your faith. I, often, do a little research to know exactly where my money goes. I knew a man that traveled a lot, and he’d pick up hitchhikers along the way. He’d often give them the money in his pocket before they parted ways. Generous? I call it reckless! After all, what was stopping that hitchhiker from buying something other than food?
When I had a chance the other day to sign up to help with feeding lunch to school-age children in the park, I didn’t have time to make all the usual considerations. All I knew was that they needed someone, and I had the time. So I put my name down, and am I glad I did. The smile on my face was as big as those on the kids’ faces. And, that feeling stayed with me the rest of the day. It was such a fun experience, I’ll do it again, even if it means changing my schedule.
Do I plan on throwing caution to the wind every time one of these opportunities presents itself? No, in fact I probably won’t be picking up any hitchhikers. I intend to hold onto my “agenda” a little less tightly, though. After all, I could change someone’s life for the better, including my own!
