O, what a tangled web...

I haven't set out to deceive. Still, life is a tangled web these days.

Today was... interesting. I'm in the midst of saying goodbye to one part of my life, and I received an email that sealed the envelope. It is so hard -- always so hard -- to leave the known behind and venture into unknown waters. Still, I can't help but think of Robert Browning at times like this:

"A man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"

And darn it, I'm not even all that fond of Robert Browning. But hey, that's a fabulous quote and so appropriate to so many occasions. I often find it in my head when I'm at a crossroads, as I am today.

Today was spent tying up some loose ends, getting to work on other projects, and washing my beloved Prius. I adore my car. I love it for both its tree-hugging cleanliness and its economy. I don't know what I'd do if I still had an expensive gas-guzzler; even when I fill the Prius, the cost takes my breath away. For those of you filling regular cars, you have my unending sympathy.

After I washed the car, the light was so pretty and the afternoon was so glorious that I took some pictures of the kids. I had been meaning to take some pictures of Woodrow because he just turned 13 last week. Terrible kid. Rotten, awful, disobedient child. I have *begged* him to stop growing up, but he just won't listen to me. I got some good shots of Woodrow with his new bicycle, and I imagine I'll be scrapping them someday.

I also took pictures of Emily. It's much harder to get a good shot of my giddy 17-year-old. She doesn't sit still long and has difficulty just composing her face for photos. I have to use far more distractions when I'm taking pictures of her. I feel blessed to have captured the shot above. I took more pictures a few minutes later, but for some reason the focus is off. I know in a year or two, I'll be ecstatic to have even the unfocused pictures, but right now I'm just happy to have this one shot, with the sun shining in her golden hair, her hazel eyes gazing off to the side, and her mouth open.

Why is her mouth open? Because she's talking. Of course. LOL -- that's my gadabout, my wild child, my extrovert --

My Emily.