One Day Life Changed

A few days ago, my sister suggested we swap a daily photo via email, so I’ve been looking around to see what I can capture with my camera.

I used to take lots of photos of my kids. They’d be there somewhere in the picture. A beautiful scene and a person: that was my favourite kind of photography. But these days, when I’m ready to take photos, no one else is. Life is no longer as free as it used to be. At least, it isn’t for my girls and husband who all have jobs.

So, I’ve been taking photos of things and places instead of people. And I’ve discovered something good about doing that: I’m recording the backdrop of our everyday lives as I snap our church, our dog-walking bush, the lake close to town, our village where we have our hair cut and post our mail,  and the outside of our house from every possible angle.

I’m planning to take my camera into town and capture the shops along the main road. Perhaps I’ll snap our small sandstone library, which I haven’t visited since the beginning of the pandemic. And then when I’ve finished with the town closest to home, I’ll move on to the next one where our second church and bookshop and our favourite gift shop are. Unfortunately, I’m too late to photograph some of the buildings along the road that runs through the centre of this town as I remember them. Last week, a fire spread through a restaurant, a bank and a few other shops.

Sometimes unexpected things happen. We miss our chance. Life has moved on.

Yesterday, as I strolled through the bush close to home with my camera, I thought about the days when my girls and I would get up as the sun rose and run together along the tracks. We’d encourage each other as we challenged our bodies and then walk home arm-in-arm feeling satisfied and ready for breakfast. We’d say, “Aren’t we fortunate to be out here in the bush with the kookaburras and kangaroos and each other? Most people are heading off to work or school, but we’re here doing what we want. We can choose how we spend our days.”

The bush is still here. It burnt during the summer fires of 2019/2020, but it’s recovering. And sometimes, I still run down the main fire trail but not with my girls. Those days came to an end. I don’t remember when.

One day life changed. But that’s okay.

When I’m tempted to look back and wish things were still the same, I think about what we have today. Today is good. How could it not be? It’s built on the foundation of yesterday, which was very good indeed.