Let's Take a Drive

A week or so ago I read a post that inspired me. Jerusalem of My Little Life took us on a walk around her neighborhood. After reading her post, I wanted take you on a walk of my own. Today a friend asked me to tell more about my daily life, and I had this project in mind. This post is for you, Tangobaby, and you, Jerusalem. Thanks for the inspiration.

I don't live in an interesting, pretty neighborhood like Jerusalem's. I live in the town section (and I use that word with a wink) of a tiny rural community. Our street has 16 ranch houses, the late 90s version. Our house is a little on the small side, but is just right for three. The outside is plain and simple, but I think the inside is charming. It makes me happy, anyway. The backyard is spacious with a pasture behind. Aside from my home and family, the beauty in my daily life is on my commute to and from work. I use that word with my tongue in my cheek. I know that most people would laugh at the thought of my 15 minute drive even being called a commute. Still... I love my time in the car each day. On the way to school Sloane and I talk about our hopes and plans for the day. We sing along to Veggie Tales and start our day with prayer time. On the way home we talk about school; what we each learned, interactions with friends, playground stories. I get to hear so much of my child's daily life by being with her immediately after school when everything if fresh. Our drive brings me much beauty and joy each day.

For fun, I took pictures last week on my drive home. As I drove. At between 45 and 55 miles per hour. Yes, I know. Jeffrey was cringing and wincing when I showed him the photos. But, I really didn't look at the camera even once. Well,only once. Here are some unedited pictures from the drive. I thought they turned out kind of cool. It's just a slice of my daily life.

I loved this little project! My mom also loved the idea and the picture. Our conversation and the fun of these pictures has remained with me. I am going to be sure to photograph daily life from now on. Not just the beauty. Not just special occasions. Not just people. (Which is what I usually do.) Also the mess of Barbies when Sloane has her weekly playdate with Lauren. The scary amount of dishes Jeffrey dirties to cook a meal. (No complaints, though. He does ALL the cooking, and it's always delicious.) Since my photo drive, I have taken so many pictures; most of them plain, ordinary, not beautiful. Our street sign. The view from the stop sign to the end of our cul de sac. The local library. The water tower. Jeffrey's school. My school. Just daily life. Sometime I'll take you on a tour of our dinky town. I sure have enough pictures of it.

Writing the paragraph above reminded me of an incredible book I found at Barnes and Noble a few months ago. It is called The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings. As I think of it, I realize that the seed of this idea was planted then, but I didn't realize it. My favorite page from the book:
Or, maybe this one is:


I hope your enjoyed the mini-tour of my daily life. More, I hope this post inspires you to capture your own day-to-day life on film. If my post doesn't, Blue Yonder's might. Sursum corda.

The photographs from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings are by KayLynn Deveney. You can purchase the book here. The rest of the photographs were taken by me with a little digital point and shoot.