ladykatza

“Its cold” has been a popular subject this winter. I mean, its obvious as to why. Its because its been BLOODY COLD! Even here in the southeast we’re huddling under blankets and burning firewood. The ductwork in this house is less than optimal, so we’ve been keeping the heat turned down and using space heaters. And its just felt colder in other ways. Everyone is trying to find ways to save money (like not turning up the heat).
Let’s face it. Things in this world are not looking very “up” at the moment. Sure we just elected our first black president and so very many are happy about this. Of course, many are not happy. Those of us that ARE happy can’t understand why others aren’t. Mostly for the same reason why they didn’t understand why Bush Jr. and his policies were so hated. But I digress.
I have been working the overnight shift for six months now and its starting to wear me down. I’ve always preferred to stay up late and sleep until noon. Still, that gave me some daytime to work with. But barely seeing the daytime, barely seeing my family and a long cold winter can wear down one’s psyche. I’m thankful for the job that I have. Its not a bad job at all, nor is it a bad company. Its just that the pervasive overshadowing of “dark economic times” coupled with the actual dark I’ve been living in has made it hard to remember I have plenty to be thankful for.
I have been trying to keep myself occupied with creative endeavors. Things like photography and scrapbooking. Something that has made me smile recently is figuring out how to do cool stuff in Photoshop Elements. Here is an example:

Felicity is three in this photo and we were trying to do a nice photo set with my friend Tommy. There were… cooperation issues on the kids’ part. This is one of her peaking out from behind the backdrop with that lovely genuine smile she has. Its seeing those smiles and hearing their laughter that helps get me up on these cold nights and make the long drive into work.
I have never been a big fan of “resolutions” for new years. It started when I came to the realization that decisions are made in the now. One does not have to wait for a new year to re-evaluate one’s life. The evaluation should be an on-going process of self-awareness and conscious decisive action. This is, to my knowledge, a uniquely human trait that is rare even for humans.