Credit...Where Credit is due...

I know how I see things. I don't know how other people see things. I'm very observant, or so I thought. Being prior military and being raised in a military family, I learned early on to "pay attention to detail." Of course most of this energy was spent on details like cleaning or cooking. I've tried to convince my children to pay attention to these details but they have no interest in domestic engineering, unless it benefits them. As in, "You can't go to the movies until you clean your room." Even if the room does get cleaned, it is in no way up to my standards. I've learned to pick my battles over the years. I settle for "straightened", not necessarily my version of clean. So, I figure my kids don't "see things" the way I do. Perhaps the closest you can get to really seeing through someone else's eyes is photography. I have to say that I have never been more photographed since we gave Lauren a camera for Christmas one year. I have more pictures of family vacations, relatives, birthdays, and random objects than I could ever possibly fit into my scrapbooks. It's the random objects that really amaze me. She does notice the details in life, more so than I ever have. It's cool when you learn from your kids. I aspire to be more like my daughter. Slow down, really look at things, nature, animals, people. I'll post some of her amazing photos from our beach vacation this summer (North Myrtle Beach) and a few random pictures. Last but not least is the photo where Lauren got her first actual Credit! She attended the Carolina Journalism Institute at USC this past summer and took some beautiful photos, one of which has become the main photo they now use for their advertising for the institute. I was so excited and proud to see my babygirl's name beneath that photo. Her first credit! The photo is of her friend Elizabeth, who attended the conference with her.