I was listening to a podcast on my drive back home from a photoshoot in the South Bay a week ago. The woman being interviewed, Barbara Huson, said that “where there is fear is where you should go”. She made a great point about it, so much so, that it stuck with me. And when I think about what scares me right now, it’s writing. Putting my thoughts down for others to read. Why on earth would that be? What could possibly happen? The truth is, the fear isn’t just about writing, it’s about me being unapologetically me, in my writing. Expressing my thoughts, my hopes, my fears and being real about it. Totally real.
I think it’s easy to hide parts of ourselves from others. I know it is for me. I’m pretty real most of the time, but in all honesty, I keep a lot in. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But, being fully expressed….that’s something I’ve always wanted for myself and my life. And today being 8/8 and the opening of the Lion’s Gate Portal, it seems like now is the best time to take the leap.
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written anything in my blog and a couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with a fellow photographer who mentioned just that. He said he was checking out my website and noticed that it had been a long time since I had written a blog entry. His assumption was that I must not be someone who writes or writes often but then he realized that I had 40 pages of entries to scroll through. I told him that I had found/made the time in the past to write and share myself and my work but over the last few years I had stopped.
So as I take a step toward expressing myself and stepping into the light of who I am, I thought I would introduce myself, or re-introduce myself as the case may be. I am Laura. I’m 50 years old and joining the silver strand movement, which means I’m letting my gray/silver hair grow in. I want to be as authentic as possible, as real as possible, and as loving to the world around me as I can. I am married to my husband Matt and we are celebrating 19 years this week. 21 years together in all and it’s flown by in a blink because he’s the right one for me. I have two teenage boys, one entering high school and one in his senior year. I am sitting on the precipice of change as my 17 year old will go off to college in a year and I can’t imagine how our home will be after he leaves. I want him to stay and be my little boy forever but I also want him to go into the world and find himself. It’s a paradox.
I am discovering my power, my worth, and my strength. I have a deep faith in God and the angels who help me each day. I have one sister who makes me laugh and cry and laugh/cry, all in the same conversation. I have surrounded myself with amazing women who support me and help me cope with the challenges of life. I have a husband who I love more now that I did when I met him. Two boys who make me so proud of the men they are becoming. I see what I am capable of and appreciate what I can and can’t do. I recognize my strengths, and weaknesses, and happily have others help me in the areas in which I need help. I love what I do for work. I feel blessed. All of those “happy things” don’t mean that my life isn’t challenging or that I don’t have my ups and downs. I do. A lot. But, because of all of those things, the hard times aren’t quite as hard and the lows aren’t quite as low. When I was younger I wouldn’t tell anyone anything until “I was ready” and then my sister shared with me why she would tell everybody everything. She said let the people who love you in. Let them share in the times that are happy and let them hold you up in the times that are hard. That’s stuck with me over the years. And I’ll tell you from experience, when those times are hard, and they can get really hard, having people surround you to help pick up the pieces or give you strength or send over a meal when you can’t bear to cook, makes all the difference in the world.
I guess this is sort of a “get reacquainted” blog post. Me getting reacquainted to writing as well as you getting reacquainted with me. I hope that you enjoy your time here. That you find joy looking through my photography as well as through my life on screen. Thanks for spending some of your day with me. I know there are a LOT of places you could be right now and a LOT of things you could be doing and I appreciate that you are here, spending a little of your precious time, with me.
Until next time….here are some photos of my recent adventures in Belize with Matt and his family (there were 29 of us on the trip but that’s another story) and a link to the reality tv show my family was on back in October of last year. Yes, we were on a reality tv show. Who would have ever thought!
Belize August 2021
Photos at the Turtle Inn, Placencia & Laughing Bird Caye Beach
These two gentlemen made our lives magical during our stay at The Turtle Inn. An incredible resort that I highly recommend if you’re ever wanting to be truly pampered. Jessie, on the right, is one of the kindest humans I have ever met. He became family. 
Grilled coconut with Rainforest Honey. An incredible treat that is not on the menu but a must have. Johnny, (on the left in the above photo), this was the BEST and thank you for spoiling me!
Welcome drinks…yes please!
We all brought school supplies for Pack For A Purpose that the Turtle Inn supports. 18 cousins from Matt and his 4 siblings. 29 of us including the parents and Nana.
A local group performed for us on our last night. They were incredible. The island rhythms and drum beats had us dance the night away. Thank you to Martin and The Turtle Inn for arranging such a special and unique event. Seine Bight Lirahuyu SeinBedi from Seine Bight Village.
We lit lanterns in honor of Matt’s dad who made this trip possible. He passed away in 2013 from ALS. We missed him on this trip but these lanterns went off to Heaven with love, appreciation and gratitude.
As a keepsake from our trip, I designed water bottles for each person. The girls were purple, the boys teal, the adult mom’s in white, and the dad’s in wood. They have a map of the coast of Belize with the turtle pointing to where the resort is located. And of course at the bottom it says…”You Better Belize It!”. 😉
Survivalists: October 2020 – A crazy adventure in the middle of a pandemic!
Survivalists: It’s Snow Time In The Wild
And, I had to toss in a photo of Ripley. She’s our baby girl, our pandemic puppy. She turned 1 in July just 2 weeks after our 1 year anniversary of having her join our family. She LOVES the beach and you can see from this photo she has quite the personality. 😉
