Family Photographer

It's a big job to rear a family.

Whether you're the parent of one or twenty-one (and anything in between), it's a constant challenge to keep the group cohesive.

While there are many ways to encourage solidarity, allow me to suggest the power of sharing family photos as a possible *gluestick.*






Metaphorically speaking :)




From birthdays to graduation, from weddings to reunions, many of us take pictures.

But what do you do with them?

One of my muse's, Donna at Quiet Life, is quite the photographer. Not only does she share her knowledge with us on her own blog, she's also a contributing writer at the famous site of the Pioneer Woman. I've known her since college when she was head photographer of the college yearbook. Now she's branching out into the bigger world of photographing others and improving her skills by taking workshops. Recently she shared pictures from her local farmers' market. Even now she's thinking ahead and taking a family photo for the Christmas card!

But back to the gluestick.


Here's another photo of our family photographer who received her first camera at age seven.

Self-taught my mother has photographed the family as long as I can remember.

There a funny series of us in front of a camera on a tripod, timer set for the precise moment of portraiture :)

Though what I really want to mention is the way she shares her photos.


They are all
organized and
ready for viewing in albums.

That is a monumental feat.

Worthy of commendation!

I know that too well because most of mine are still sitting in boxes in the basement.

But, no, she doesnt stop with editing, printing, and cataloging.

Sharing is the key.

She makes a family birthday calendar for each of us (six children with spouses and 29 grands!) and gives it at Christmastime.


My father contributes by laminating, collating, and binding.

 At this moment I can glance up at my calendar flipped to May and be reminded that MargaretAnn and James have birthdays this month.


Then she creates her own greeting cards, artistically using her archive of thousands of images. Inside the card you're likely to find a CD containing lots of pictures of yourself with family.



Furthermore, there's an entire hallway of family photos and a family website.

So, when you visit home, there's no question about the roots of the family tree.

Thankfully, all my daughters love taking pictures, too!

I'm looking forward to their glue.

CWAC or Cousins Week at Callaway

Leftover Picnic


Now it is the end of the week and it's time for another picnic.

This time we bring out whatever is leftover from our week's meals.

Voila!

Dinner!








We've placed the chairs in a large circle,

blessed the food,

and give the troops permission to serve their plates.








Here I am with Jasper, one of the parrots at the Day Butterfly Center.

Thanks for visiting.

Y'all come back now,

ya hear!

Callaway Fauna

Duck Family

There is a host of wildlife to see at Callaway Gardens and I captured pictures of only a few.

Besides the ducks, I happened upon a gaggle of Canadian geese who were strangely sunning on a stretch of beach.





Here's a huge turtle of which there were many. Now they didnt make any sound I could detect, but they were worth of a picture.





Although it is very hard to see, there is a bird in the center of this photo. He's on the railing. Can you see him?

I think it is a catbird, whose sound I do recognize, but he was busy pursuing another bird....his companion, I assume.



In addition to self-guided nature walks, there are a host of *Discovery Programs* where educational naturalists conduct a short lecture and demonstration about wildlife or gardening. There are programs all day long. So many that one cant possibly take them all in.

One such program which I have always wanted to do, but have yet to, is *Discover the Stars* It takes place on Monday nights from 9 - 11 pm at the Pavilion Overlook. This year I brought my binoculars in preparation, but alas, I was already in bed!

Family Reunion

Patriarch

Here's my father going over some details related to the early lineage.





Cleverly designed family tree printed so that each child/grandchild could find his/her name and place in the line-up.



Matriarch

Photographer, par excellence, my mother works diligently to record our family events for posterity.


Legend has it that she received her first camera at age 7.





In addition to maintaining family albums, my mother has one for each grandchild. Here's an example of the family calendar she creates for each of us: one per familly plus one miniature one for each grandchild.

Who's the photographer/keeper of the record in your family?


PS She also is webmaster at our family webpage.

Picnics

Earlier this week I commented on Donna's query about picnics (scroll down entry to find fill-in-the-blank-question) and said that a picnic is not complete without fried chicken. On Sunday we'll kick off our annual family reunion with a picnic. In this case, every family packs their own and brings out their plates to a common area. This year in addition to serving my family, I've invited my parents and two old family friends (who're just dropping in for the day) to join us.


Our menu:

Krispy Fried Chicken (a local Pine Mtn favorite)
Green Beans
Rice Salad with artichokes
Sliced Tomatoes
Bread Ring

Iced Tea
Bloody Marys



Cookie Cake (common dessert shared by about fifty of us)














Even though meals are shared throughout the week, each family can retreat to their own cottage kitchens for meal planning and preparations. By the end of the week, there are usually leftovers, soooooooooooo on Friday night we have a final picnic where everyone brings out *leftovers*! It's loads of fun and it really helps clean out the 'fridges before we have to pack up and leave the next day.

One rainy year, we had a progressive picnic, in which we went from cottage to cottage with umbrellas, sampling leftovers.

Circle Time

Every afternoon we gather
to *visit* - that is, sit around,
tell stories, ask questions,
get to know one another better.


L-R: DD#4, DD#2 behind DH, Me, Brother, SIL

Sunday, July 17, 2006













Getting a little larger, at any time of the day during our week-long family reunion, the circle is a special ingredient in our family fellowship.

Check my xanga for a picture of our little neighborhood away from home.

Family Reunions and Fine Art

Donna queried yesterday. "What tells you it's summer?"

While there are many things (like homegrown tomatoes) that say *Summertime* to me, the loudest one right now is *Family Reunion*. In two short weeks, we will gather for the 16th year in a row at Callaway Gardens. We had gathered annually for years (ten) at my parents' home until we outgrew their accomodations.

Futhermore, when I was a child, we gathered around the Fourth of July for a family reunion on my father's side because his father's birthday was July 2nd. This line of Jordans have been gathering in Cullman, Alabama for over fifty years. It's always the third Sunday in July


So, reuniting as a family is a deeply ingrained tradition.


Here's the first invitation to Cousins Week at Callaway (CWAC). The poem and illustrations were done by my mother.






















Your Christmas gift for '91
Is lots and lots of summer fun.
To Callaway Gardens we will go
For sport and games and circus show.

All DanDan's clan plan to be there
And we'll build memories later to share.
Spouses, offspring, siblings, cousins together
We'll have a great time - no matter the weather.

So, when you're nestled all snug in your bed
And voices of sugar plums dance in your head,
Dream some dreams of Callaway and things we will do,
When we get together in August '92.




There is no more valuable investment than that of spending time and energy with and on your family. See more of our family at our webpage.

And I'll leave you with a quote from Kin Hubbard which pricks my conscience in an ironical way because I'd rather learn to get together peacefully than never get together in order to have peace.

There is plenty of peace in any home where the familiy doesnt make the mistake of trying to get together.


Does that make sense?