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I’m competitive. My worst opponent is ME! When I compete against ME it is a knock ‘em dead, throw off the gloves, get down and all out dirty competition. I am my own worst enemy!
I never played sports like my other siblings. I was the ‘Artsy’ one.
However, I learned quickly the art of the committed Mama, cheerleader when our son played sports - though my husband, sometimes, chose not to sit with me. I remember the tension in one of the games our son played. It was a tied score with only a few seconds left on the clock. In that moment nothing else in the Universe mattered. I couldn’t take it. I got out of my seat and I summoned up with all my being the years of learning projection as a Drama Major at University and I yelled out to my son and made him a monetary offer he couldn’t refuse if he got the winning point. He moved as if in slow motion and with the stealth and ease of a honed athlete made the buzzer beater point.
Our side of the gym was giddy with laughter.
What does that have to do with the Lynx? Well, again, I was driving -
and again, Philip had the long lens. He was doing something with his camera when I slammed on the brakes.
This is the part of photography that I need to faithfully exercise. More discipline. My brain knows what to do but my emotions,
my voice and the adrenaline can get the better of me. I know I need to breathe. I know I need to practise more restraint. In my defence, I get so enthralled with seeing something so incredibly beautiful.
A couple of weeks ago I was the first to spot two of the largest moose that I had ever seen. I know they didn’t see me but they heard my squeals of delight. I was still in the jeep. They did not stick around to see what all the excitement was about…
Philip was totally unprepared but managed to jump out of the jeep when he too, spied the Lynx.
The Lynx appeared amused at the people who broke the humdrum of his otherwise boring day. It sat and watched the scene unfold…
The man was fumbling with something long and shiny as he got out of the vehicle. He cautiously moved closer and closer to him. Then the woman got out of the vehicle.
The man appeared agitated and was saying he had the wrong
settings - whatever that meant. The woman started pleading with the man. She claimed ownership and said it was her Lynx. She said she wanted the big long lens. The man kept pointing that thing at him.
The lady was emotional and started crying. She went back to the vehicle and brought out another big shiny thing. She pointed that thing at him too. Now two things were pointed at him but he just sat there, amused, waiting to see what other tricks they could do.
A few minutes later, the man gave the long thing to the lady. She stopped crying but then she started saying words he never heard before. She asked the man if he had the Extender on the lens.
The man said no, and she said she couldn’t focus. She was really mad. She said something about the photo of the year. Then the man took the long thing from her and he pointed it again. Then he said something about the focus point had been moved to the left and that’s why she couldn’t get the focus right. Now the lady was crying and laughing at the same time! These humans! They were so comical! He would stick around for a few more minutes and give them his best smile.
Even though the Lynx graced us with his presence for a good fifteen
minutes, we still did not get the shots that we should have gotten.
A comedy of errors that we need to learn from. I knew before I even checked that I did not get the shot. I was devastated. We had been given a gift and messed up the opportunity.
I was miserable for the rest of the night. I played the experience over and over again in my head as we drove the next four hours home. How could we have missed those shots? We were so close we could have pet him!
At the end of the day I have to reconcile that we were incredibly fortunate to have experienced a visit from a Lynx.
We do feel the necessity to save and invest in another lens. In the meantime though, I am relieved and feel very lucky that my husband still loves me and that despite my shortcomings, he still enjoys going on adventures with me - even in the same jeep!
"Dear folks, We are having a fine time. It was too hot to come the 12th. Joe left the 10th (Saturday) for Denver. Will be away 2 weeks. A party of 4. I know they will have a fine time. Where is Mable."
Additional note on the back of this real photo postcard: "7/21. Too hot to move. Go to work, come home, and lay around. You folks come up. Ed."
Originally posted on Ipernity: We Are Having a Fine Time.
I'm not 100% sure it should be, considering all the other far less amusing, far more important things ahead of them in the queue.
The Demand Bark
Whenever we arrive somewhere with a ball, Hamilton expects it to be thrown immediately and will begin barking. I don't much care for this habit, so I put the balls away, drop the chucker on the ground and turn my back to him. He gets the idea pretty fast. But today I amused myself by taking pictures of the bark. All the boys consider picture taking a reinforceable behavior and will continue whatever they are engaged in, often with even more vigor. This proved to be true of Ham today, and eventually I came to regret my lapse in judgment.