Lady Kate and the Joie de Vivre

Expectations

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:46:32 -0400

The rain dripped to a stop and I waited in the parking lot for the sun to appear. It felt like rainbow weather. As I searched the blank clouds, I heard a little boy shout, “Look! A rainbow!” and point down into the gasoline menagerie swirled in the puddle around his feet. My heart sank because I didn’t get my rainbow; his soared because he did.

If you’ve ever written me a letter, postcard, napkin poem,...

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:03:33 -0400

If you’ve ever written me a letter, postcard, napkin poem, valentines day card, picture, or anything made w/ love- chances are I still have it. Ive been collecting these little crumpled & faded proofs of love for years. Another reason the tangible written word shall never become obsolete.

Excited to see Alice, the 8 year old daughter of my friends...

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:15:44 -0400

Excited to see Alice, the 8 year old daughter of my friends @kellyisnice and James, tonight. I met Alice last year shortly after James and Kelly rescued (adopted) her from the foster care system. I was leaving for India the next week to teach for @PictureChange and we talked about photography how far away India was. As I was walking to my car, Alice ran out the front door and breathlessly handed me a tiny, floppy kitten stuffed animal because I “might need it since I was going so far way.” I told her I’d give it to someone special over there.

I kept the kitten with me my entire 3.5 months in India and in Varanasi I met Daniel, a little boy who was living with his father in a 200 year old ashram (a holy place, not quite a temple). His mother left them when he was young and his father was bringing him up the best he could among the other devotees of the ashram. He was about Alice’s age and I figured out of all the people I met, he could use the traveling, floppy kitten the most.

I printed this photo of Daniel to give to Alice tonight, seeing as theyre both connected in some way, both special, chosen, loved, and are being raised by devoted people.

Dysfunctional Family

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:20:00 -0400

Sometimes I find myself keeping mental lists of how I’d change my family or my role in it. Then we’re all together on a holiday like today & I recognize the beauty of embracing the “imperfections” and learning how to love deeper. I love just how many ways my family puts ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunctional.’

Both of us Kates. Happy Mother’s Day!

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:19:20 -0400

Both of us Kates. Happy Mother’s Day!

Sister Mary Curmudgeon

Thu, 09 May 2013 01:07:00 -0400

“…but deep down in her heart she could feel that ineffable change from hopeless romantic to… amateur curmudgeon. What once brought gushes of love now evoked onsets of eye-rolls. C’est tragic. C’est practical.

She was a philanthropic curmudgeon, if such a thing exists. Ah! They do. The nuns. She always felt an affinity for the Sisters. She was not quite past her child bearing years, yet quite past believing in fairy tales and prince charmings. The only place remotely suitable for her seemed to either be the convent or the open road.”

~ lines from the book I’m writing in my head based on my current situation in life

I thought I could see the end to my struggle, but the more I...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:37:00 -0400

I thought I could see the end to my struggle, but the more I paddled, the further away my destination seemed to be. So, I stopped in the middle of the water, let the speedboats roar past me, and just enjoyed floating between heaven and earth.

First Time User: How to Recognize and Prevent Human Trafficking

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:20:39 -0400

First Time User: How to Recognize and Prevent Human Trafficking:

firsttimeuser:

By Katherine Chon, Senior Advisor on Trafficking in Persons, Administration for Children & Families

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation 150 years ago, beginning the long road to freedom for the hundreds of thousands enslaved in homes, on farms, and other forms of…

modernhepburn: James Vincent McMorrow - If I Had a Boat If I...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:09:33 -0400

modernhepburn:

James Vincent McMorrow - If I Had a Boat

If I had a boat, I would sail to you. Hold you in my arms, ask you to be true.

"Point is, what’s so wonderful is that every one of these flowers has a specific relationship..."

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 02:50:41 -0400

““Point is, what’s so wonderful is that every one of these flowers has a specific relationship with the insect that pollinates it. There’s a certain orchid look exactly like a certain insect so the insect is drawn to this flower, its double, its soul mate, and wants nothing more than to make love to it. And after the insect flies off, spots another soul-mate flower and makes love to it, thus pollinating it. And neither the flower nor the insect will ever understand the significance of their lovemaking. I mean, how could they know that because of their little dance the world lives? But it does. By simply doing what they’re designed to do, something large and magnificent happens. In this sense they show us how to live - How, when you spot your flower, you can’t let anything get in your way. “”

- ~ John Laroche, ‘Adaptation’

"I will love you as a drawer loves a secret compartment, and as a secret compartment loves a secret,..."

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 03:19:37 -0400

““I will love you as a drawer loves a secret compartment, and as a secret compartment loves a secret, and as a secret loves to make a person gasp, and as a gasping person loves a glass of brandy to calm their nerves, and as a glass of brandy loves to shatter on the floor, and as the noise of glass shattering loves to make someone else gasp, and as someone else gasping loves a nearby desk to lean against, even if leaning against it presses a lever that loves to open a drawer and reveal a secret compartment. I will love you until all such compartments are discovered and opened, and until all the secrets have gone gasping into the world. I will love you until all the codes and hearts have been broken and until every anagram and egg has been unscrambled.””

- Lemony Snicket (via peelsofpoetry)

"Grandma:”It just gets harder and harder to get out of bed every morning. I used to be ready..."

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:39:14 -0400

“

Grandma:”It just gets harder and harder to get out of bed every morning. I used to be ready and active but now I just feel so tired. I guess that’s just part of getting old: you don’t have much to look forward to anymore.”

Me: “Well, I’ll be home soon & I look forward to seeing you.”

Grandma: “Ok good. I’ll be watching for you.”

”

- phone call with my almost 91year old Grandma Grace today

Be the Song.

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:34:22 -0500

Be the Song.

Revel

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:54:00 -0500

I’ve spent too much time worrying over trivialities or that I don’t have a plan or ‘what if people are depending on me?’ and etc. Then I realized how long the world has gone on before me and how long it will go on without me when I’m gone. The things I do are only significant because I am Called to do them, not because it is me specifically who are doing them.

Kingdoms crumble, stars die in the sky, the tides incessantly come in and out, and here I am- bewildered by a to-do list. It seems so silly. So, instead, I choose to take time to revel in my inefficiencies, my imperfections, my bewilderment, and my calling. I will choose to marvel at the expanse of the galaxy and beauty of the world instead of stressing and over analyzing the little sandcastles of importance I’ve built up around me. The earth will go on whether or not I complete my to-do list.There’s so much more to do than that.

HAUNTED

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:00:18 -0500

HAUNTED

"There was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life…..."

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:56:59 -0500

““There was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life… It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which is not likely I shall ever find again.””

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘The Great Gatsby’

Hi friends! About 8 months ago, I got a call from my friend...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:08:29 -0500

Hi friends!

About 8 months ago, I got a call from my friend Ethan saying,

“Hey, Kate. Um… you have a gallery show for your students’ photography in February out in California,”

to which I replied, “Uh… no I don’t,”

to which he replied, “You do now.”

I moved out to Sacramento, CA a month ago and we began preparing for this gallery show at Sacramento State University. It’s a huge opportunity because:

a.) It’s the first time my Picture Change students have shown their photography in the United States and

b.) This is one of the nicest, largest gallery spaces in Sacramento and will receive a lot of viewers and publicity.

The students (from Nicaragua and India) are so excited that people in the United States actually care about their lives and their photography. This is such a big deal for them. The show has already received a few generous donations to be produced, but we still need a few hundred dollars to make it happen.

Please watch this video and check out our IndieGogo fundraiser page. No amount is too little and no amount is too much. It’s all going to a great cause: to allow students from tiny fishing villages and women who have been rescued out of brothels in India tell their stories and display their talent through photography. A cultural exchange; an act of love.

Thanks, everyone.

(www.indiegogo.com/picturechangegallery)

Not The Hero

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:20:06 -0500

I’ve come to realize that so many good things in my life have happened because a friend once told me, “you’re nice to have around, but nobody needs you.” I was offended at first, but she explained this in the context of treating people and time with them as a gift, not a project, and viewing others on equal ground, not with me as the hero. It’s made all the difference.

Exhausting

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Being passionate about something is exhausting.

"“That’s lovely,” she said. “Where do you want to go?”..."

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:23:19 -0500

“

“That’s lovely,” she said. “Where do you want to
go?”

“Nowhere. I want to stay here.”

“That’s silly. You pick a place to go and I’ll come
too.”

“How will you work it?”

“I don’t know. But I will.”

“You’re pretty wonderful.”

“No I’m not. But life isn’t hard to manage when
you’ve nothing to lose.”

“How do you mean?”

“Nothing. I was only thinking how small obstacles
seemed that once were so big.”

”

- ~ Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms