This image makes me think about what it must have looked like before we came along.

This image makes me think about what it must have looked like before we came along.

Lately I’ve heard lots of people use the term “empty nest” when referring to our situation as our youngest just graduated high school. It’s usually with great enthusiasm that it’s mentioned. After today I’m not so sure I’m prepared for it. I just spent the day discussing how our daughter is being violently shoved into a position of incredible freedoms and enormous responsibility. I keep thinking that it’s going be rough for her, but I really should consider how rough it’ll be for me. She’s been on the same campus at the same time and has already integrated into a new group of friends. Me? I’m stressing about how she’s going to do, will she remember to eat, will she find all her classes, will she discover her passion? Geez I’m not prepared.

One of the few traditions/superstitions @ Roanoke College is for students to avoid stepping on the seal outside the Administration Building. If they step on it they don’t graduate in four years.
Well, I did it. I said I would and I did. I went into panic mode in the first 200 meters of the swim because I started the race cold and my heart rate skyrocketed. And you can’t really stop and rest when you’re swimming in open water. I found my stride at about the 1/4-mile mark and shaved about 20 minutes off my swim time of my first (and only other) Olympic some 20 years ago. The run was a little slow because I was favoring my leg from the surgery, but all in all I’m pleased with how I did and how far I’ve come since the end of January.


How did we get so much stuff?! Where does it all come from?! I’ve been a little distracted lately as we move into a new home and deal with the enormous collection of stuff we’ve managed to cram into our house! I had to take a break from the move recently and get back into shooting. The new office space is coming together quite nicely though. Perhaps I’ll share some images soon.

Our new back yard.