One Little Word: May

This year I’m participating in Ali Edwards’ One Little Word workshop. My word is “clear.” All of my OLW posts are here.

With the way life’s been going lately, the fact that I managed to finish May’s prompt — and that I did so before the end of May (even though I’m posting it more than a week into June) — is a minor miracle. The goal was to capture my word in photos, but I chose to take a slightly different approach since there were a few specific photos I wanted to highlight because of the feelings that they inspire.

First are two photos from two separate visits from out of town friends. I have great friends in Houston, but I also have great friends in other areas of the country. In April and May, I got to see Kelly and John when they visited from Ohio and Jen and Jonathan when they visited from Seattle. Both couples also have two kids, all around the same age as Emma and Charlotte. The thought of how great it would be if they lived here — and the lament that they don’t — literally puts a lump in my throat. So getting to see them even just for a bit was so awesome, and definitely provides some moments of feeling clear and happy.

Second is a photo of my entire family hanging out on my parents’ front porch one evening when we visited in April. The adults are sitting in the rocking chairs and on the rope couch and standing around, and the kids are running around blowing bubbles. It just felt so idyllic. I need more of that feeling in my life.

The last photo is one I took in mid April after some pretty scary tornado-spawning storms passed through my part of town — a quite literal photo of “clear” as it was that day.

Overall I’d say I’m having a little trouble fully connecting with my word this year so far. The last month of craziness hasn’t helped. I’d like to find a little more downtime to really think about it in June.