"I think it's about forgiveness"

I'm sometimes a little self-centered. Another one of those 'human condition' things that I guess I'm still trying to work on. I sometimes get in a tailspin where a deep breath and step back seem inconceivable and impossible. I spent the better part of the last forty eight hours unloading the unbearable sadness weighing on my heart to several of my most patient and listening loved ones.

I spoke the truth as my heart knew it, said bitter, pained words. Cried the ugly cry. You know that one, where your past kleenex, and snot knows no bounds. The one reserved for Oprah, Sirius falling behind the veil, September 11th, Denny dying on Grey's, and life's hardest disappointments. And behind all that truth, and all those tears I realized sometimes you just have to pick yourself up. And there's really nothing more than that. Dust yourself off, and keep going.

And once your pride is free of dirt, that's when you see that with a deep breath and step back, as hard as life hits you sometimes, the sadness of it isn't unbearable. WIth those that love you most at your side, it's not even close.

Due to my intense self-centered pity party this next part is a little shout out to those 'most patient and listening loved ones' so this might be a little boring if your not one of these next six people.

Melanie: We may not still be on Stradwick Rise, but you are always welcome in my house, my refrigerator, and I will cook you something to eat any hour of the day you need it. I promise when the time comes, I too, will do right by my children and family as you have.
Karla: There may be 1000 km between us, but I love you in the same way I loved you lying side by side in my bunk bed a decade ago. Fingers and toes are crossed-13. You deserve every happiness this world has to offer.
Marwa: My hearts understanding of friendship will always be wrapped in the backseat of an SUV, scored to Clay Aiken himself, hand grasped in yours. Thank you for always standing up for me, believing I deserve more, deserve better.
Marissa: Thank the stars you were free of my angsty self this weekend, Wildberry Spritzer and Harvest Cheddar Crisps are but a fraction of my love for you. 8:00am this morning I hope you felt the swell of enormous pride I had for you all the way in Lethbridge. Ten bucks says you aced it. If this photography thing bails, I call dibs on the basement of your mansion.
Aunty Pam: Who still can't quite figure out the internet enough to read this. In my heart, you are every bit like a mother to me as Claudia McGlynn was. Thank you for the truth, your hugs, your biscuits and your gentle voice, they mean more to me than any other in the world.
Morgan: I wish I could return to a basement filled with a Courtney dartboard and kinder surprise contraptions, and tell myself to put down the phone.  Some things really are lost causes, and decade long heart ache is never worth it. 

For anyone  who made it all the way down here I thought I'd throw in a couple more favorites from Mel and Duncan's shots the other day, with some ones of the whole family we had taken the night before.

Mel and I both loved the feeling of this one