week thirty-four

there is a part of me i know is safe with you
the part of me that is desperate to hold on to my childhood innocence
the childhood we shared.
you are now my protector, little brother.
the miles do not matter
the years between us do not matter
all that matters is right now
and the gift i have been given....
being your sister.

week thirty-three

 i try hard to remember what your face looked like
but it feels so far away.
you used to glow,
the air around you used to glisten,
and there was life in your smile.
i miss your smile now...your real smile
and your full-belly laughter.
i miss the way you made people feel 
and how much you cared.
i miss the ease with which you lived.
i try so hard to remember what you were like
and how you used to be,
to remember the reasons for your joy.
it all feels so very far away...
you feel so very far away...
come back, Shaina, come back.
i miss you.

week thirty-two

I am diving head-first
into this thing called life.
eager to discover,
eager to celebrate,
eager to live in the here and now.
discovery comes from being open...
being willing to embrace change
and the things life throws my way.
there are many lessons to be learned.
there are many lessons i have learned.
and now i move forward
vulnerable, curious and ready
for this thing called life.

week thirty-one

can i tell you a story?
can i share a memory?
all about the days when we were twelve or thirteen...
when summer smelled like horses,
saw mills and fresh raspberries,
when our biggest worry was
getting in before dark,
when the world beyond the pasture
felt like home.
now i get to tell this as a story
and i get to live it as a memory...
when in the summer i cherish
all the raspberries i can find,
when it seems like all i have
are worries,
when the pasture is gone and
now im buying my own home.
this is my life
I savor.
I remember.
I share.

July

i absolutely can not believe how fast the month of july went by...  full of hot days and rushed photoshoots, but ultimately, some of my favorite finished images.  funny how i seem to say that every month.  i have a feeling this finished year of portraits and poems is going to be a project i am so so proud of.
thanks for being a part of it.

1. week | twenty-seven , 2. week | twenty-eight, 3. week | twenty-nine, 4. week | thirty