#WeekInTheLife™ - my Photos my Words

Week In The Life™ with Ali Edwards - Wednesday my Photos my Words

I'm in, are you? For those of you that are unfamiliar with #WeekInTheLife™ by Ali Edwards... it is about documenting seven consecutive days in your life using words and photos.

If you know me... you know that I have been a long time follower of Ali's and her memory keeping journey. I have always appreciated her honesty in her approach to narrative and how she has shared her story of love, family, loss and life’s journey. I’m so extremely in awe of her commitment, passion, and her core values of memory keeping… along with a deep appreciation for all that she does for our community. She is my #1 in the league of storytelling and the person that I most admire in the industry… hands down!

Sharing with you today my #WeekInTheLife™ Monday words and photos...

To find out more about #WeekInTheLife™ click> here

Here is a great #WITL™ album process video from Ali, click> here

Yep... the picture pretty much sums up the day...

Years ago, I would never have thought about documenting the frustrating days, the not so pretty days, the hard days. But as I have followed Ali through the years, I have grown to see and understand that these moments or days are just as important to document. For if it was not for the lows, we would never know or appreciate how wonderful the ups of life are. 

"It is a part of all our lives and I've come to know that there is beauty in the sadness when it rises. That's what is real - it's just as real as the joy. As I mentioned previously, this isn't a sad story. It's just a story. And it's mine. And it's okay. I'm continuing to learn to embrace my life day by day with as much joy and compassion and kindness and fun and hard work as possible." -Ali Edwards

I love the above quote from Ali... it is raw, it is honest and it is true. Ali, thank you for helping me see the beauty in all parts of my 'everyday' life.

Wednesday was muddy. I took very few photos today.

My day started out really early. I've grown to love the morning darkness and quiet. It was a full day of work, work and work. I basically sat here, like this, the entire day. Projects to finish, deadlines to meet and meetings...

A bright spot in my morning, a text from my dear friend. Love how many days we text all day... sharing little snippets of our life and the happenings. She constantly shares photos of her day, love how we stay connected even though we are miles apart.

As the day went on, I was finishing up projects, meeting my deadlines and feeling accomplished. Lunch at my desk (had the same thing as yesterday), still shuffling around the laundry, and dinner started in the crock-pot (balsamic honey roasted pork)...

Then there was this. Ever had one of those meetings that completely derail and crash your day? Well, that was the kind of meeting it was. Then, there was a second meeting to talk about the first meeting. Many disappointed, some throwing in the towel, some withdrawing completely, some burying their heads in the sand, while the common denominator of the meeting was = just waiting for the train wreck to happen. It ended up being a terrible, horrible, no good very bad evening...

With all of that being said... my mind was so muddy and preoccupied that taking pictures just did not even enter my mind! So most of this day will be detailed with journaling. At the end of the day, the family came together. We had a nice dinner, filled with love, laughter and good food (fork tender balsamic honey roasted pork, sweet potato and onion steak fries, peas for the guys and steamed broccoli for me). There may have been a margarita or two involved while we watched our dvr'd Marvel - Agents of Shield. After dinner and a television show, the guys cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen and I retreated to my office to finish up what work was left from earlier. I did accomplish all that needed to be done to meet my deadlines and I was very pleased with the way my designs turned out... so there is that...