Whistle While You Work

Do weekends get shorter when you get older?  Is that some kind of aging thing that old folks forget to tell you about?  It seems that every Monday I sit at the computer wondering how to write about how busy the weekend was.  In fact, I think I said that very thing last Monday.  And maybe the Monday before that.  It seems as if the world spins extra fast between Friday night and Sunday night.  It surely did this past weekend. 

I had a wedding shoot Saturday, so I went to the rehearsal Friday night.  That's always my chance to get the lay of the land and see what kind of obstacles are ahead the next day.  Churches are notoriously dark, which makes shooting during a ceremony difficult, especially once they do things like dim the lights and light candles.  Romantic it is.  But if you're not careful, you'll end up with a lot of blurry red photos.  I have a huge fear of blurry red photos.  HUGE. Gigantic.  Bigger than JLo's butt kind of fear. 

The rehearsal is also a chance to see the plans for the ceremony.  The key to getting all of the necessary wedding shots is to anticipate the next move so you can be in the right place at the right time.  Things can change rapidly when ring bearers don't go down the aisle, preachers give errant instructions to guests and relatives sit in the wrong pew.  You have to be on your toes, which is why I wear flats and pants and know where all of the side doors are.  The potential for disaster lingers from the beginning of the ceremony to the end, so the way for me to stay calm is to do all of my planning on the front end.  I'm glad to say it all went well.  The couple was just adorable, and since I know them personally, it was a real pleasure and privilege to be a part of their big day.  And even though it rained outside during the ceremony, there was a big beautiful rainbow that appeared shortly after they threw open the church doors for the receiving line.  Sweet.  I wanted to photograph them standing under the rainbow, but that would have meant stopping the receiving line and putting the bride and groom in the rain.  I figured that wasn't such a great idea.  But I really wanted to.

I flopped into bed late Saturday night, only to roll out of bed early to run the AV system during the early service, Sunday school and second service at church.  There was lunch, an attack on the mountain of laundry in the laundry room, dinner to cook, tomatoes to pick in the garden (10 gallons) and things to get ready for the new work week.  I snuck away for about forty minutes to shoot pictures at the nearby sunflower fields because they are in bloom (YAY!!!!!!!) again.  I was afraid I'd miss them if I didn't make a point to get my patookus down there this weekend.  I shot, shot, shot all the live long day and ran back home, only to find that Hubby had called some friends to see if they wanted some tomatoes and they were on their way to our house.  Only they didn't show up until 9pm.  They left at 10:10pm, and while it was a great visit, I looked at the clock and said, "Self, what on earth just happened?  Wasn't it just Friday?  Did you have a weekend?  Do you really have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning?"  It was just crazy to think that two and a half days could fly so fast.

So here we are.  At Monday.  I'm hoping to catch up on all kinds of mundane chores during the next few days.  And to edit some pictures.  A lot of pictures actually.  I have the wedding shots and a maternity shoot I need to edit.  And right now, I have two expectant mamas who are close to giving birth, which means newborn shoots are right around the corner.  I'm on baby watch, which is fun, fun, fun, but it means I can't get behind now, or I'll be really behind when those little papooses are ready to have their picture taken.   It is work yes, but it's also my travel money.  All of my photography money goes into the "Trip to Italy" jar.  Which is why I may be tired but I just keep singing Whistle While You Work and imagining myself floating on a gondola in Venice....for a whole weekend.