Memories Through Pictures

Yes, I'm blogging again! After reading my previous entry you know that I went to the doctor yesterday and wasn't feeling well. I decided to take the day off from work and get to feeling better rather than pushing myself! Go Me!! So without any hesitation, I decided to blog again...I have already cleaned my apartment, took a nap and watched Ellen...time to blog!

I was looking through my pictures online and started thinking about what was going through my mind in that moment. I thought it would be "blog worthy" to post some pictures and fill you guys in!

This is a picture of me and one of my best friends, Sarah. We are at a bar in Charlotte, NC with our soon-to-be-boyfriends and some more mutual friends we hadn't seen in forever. The whole day we shopped for the "perfect" dresses (which we found) and had been looking so forward to getting out of Spartanburg (which was where I lived during school). Nate is taking the picture and had just made some ridiculous comment about us (which I have forgotten now) that had clearly cracked us up. Although the picture is not the most flattering, I love it because there are very few times in life when you can catch someone in a deep laugh...much less yourself! I love to laugh and I love my friends! We had so much fun that night as it was the first time we had all gone to Charlotte together and the first time Nate and I had officially hung out!! Wonderful times!!Sorry for the 'blurry-ness' of this picture but Joey, a co-workder and dear friend of mine, took it and was clearly not qualified to be our photographer!! During college, I worked at Express at the Westgate Mall in Spartanburg. I met some of my life-long friends there and took part in many entertaining "fashion shows" like this one. Each quarter, we were required to have a staff meeting in order to introduce new guidelines, inform the staff of new goals and of course introduce the new clothing lines. We ususally had these meetings on Sunday mornings before the store opened and would put together fashion shows to show off these new clothes (also to take away from the monotonous meeting agendas). In this picture we were 'modeling' our new denim line and some new tops for our fall collection. This picture was taken right after we all walked down the 'runway' and modeled our outfits (compliments of Joey!!). The day before, we all walked around the store and picked out what we wanted to wear and what accessories would work best. Keep in mind that we don't own any of these clothes...it was like a huge dress-up day! I just remember thinking that there would be no where else in my little 'sheltered, southern' life that I would get to wear something like this and walk down a runway!! Fun times!!

This picture is one of my most favorite because I can vividly remember this day. This is my Grandpa Lindley with whom I had just met for the first time (well...other than when I was a toddler) a few days prior. He is my mom's dad and lives in Bremerton, WA which is why I had never had the opportunity to get to know him. On this particular day, we were all sitting around my grandparents' house and were taking pictures. My mom and I were getting ready to leave the next day to fly back to South Carolina and I knew this would probably not only be the first time I saw him...but also the last. We flew out to WA to visit with him because he was dying of cancer and my mom wanted me to meet him. He was such a great man...a loving and faithful husband, a father to four girls, a war veteran, a grandfather,a great-grandfather, a devout Christian, a working man until his 80s and a true friend to those who were fortunate enough to meet him. In this picture, I remember asking to take a picture of just me and him which was followed by a welcoming smile. He was very weak and so I kneeled beside him and put my hand on his arm. Right before the picture was taken, he placed his hand on top of mine and whispered in my ear..."I love you and I'm so proud of you..." As you can probably tell from the picture, I am fighting back the tears. His hands were badly bruised from IV's but were still the softest hands I had ever touched. He had always been a tall and very solid man, but the cancer had taken most of that away..except in his hands. When I returned home, I found it intriguing that the same hands that were so bruised and yet so soft... still had the strength of a young man. Grandpa Lindley died in June of 2007 just a few weeks after I had returned to South Carolina. I wish I had known him my entire life.

This is a picture I took while I was visiting Bremerton, WA. I have never been so captivated by a place before...I know that doesn't say much considering the lack of travel I have experienced...but this place is breathtaking. I took this particular picture on the Pugent Sound during a typical cloudy day in the northwest. Unlike South Carolina, the water was so still and the air lacked the presence of the dreadful humidity I am so accustomed to. I remember standing on the pier with my mom and aunt Candy (in a sweatshirt and jeans in June!! ha!) and just thinking how refreshing it seemed there. Although everything seems simple in this picture...I think that is what I find so appealing...simplicity.