So the summer is winding down, and I will soon be writing about my progress and, ahem, lack of progress on my massive summer to do list. One of the things I said I wanted to work on was taking more photos and hopefully better photos.  I started a 365 project on Flickr where I take a self-portrait everyday – some of which are very boring and some are not, but the point is that my daily activities are recorded in all their glory.  (Sarcasm intended.)  I like storing them on Flickr because you can choose the level of privacy, and I have a very small number of Flickr contacts so I can be held accountable and stay on track with this project without sharing my photos with the whole world.

There are a million “Project 365” groups out there, and there are some fabulous photographers who really have beautiful pieces in their 365 collections.  Let me explain that I am an amateur photographer at best. I didn’t even know where the self-timer button on my camera was until fairly recently!  The purpose of this, for me, is to appreciate the small things and maybe, just maybe, make life slow down a tiny bit.  I’m only 102 days in, but so far I’ve captured so many moments – the last days of teaching and moving out of my classroom, hanging out with Jude at home, various tasks in the kitchen, crafting here and there, reading a book on the porch, getting together with girlfriends, seeing Seattle for the first time with my little family……

Yes, there are some nights when I realize I am going to bed and I have yet to take my daily photo.  That’s when I come up with beauties like this one.

And half of my photos are of food….because when in doubt, I take a picture of what we are eating for dinner.

But despite the occasional boredom, this project has been a really great reflective exercise for me. I am already astonished at how much Jude has changed, and I can only imagine how I’ll feel at the end of the year as I look back at my photographs.  Plus I know I sometimes get in a funk wondering what I DO with my time.  I love that this makes me see that spending a cozy night on the sofa or doing a small task here or there to improve my home or family is, in fact, something.  The small things make our days count.  A quick photo a day has helped me see that, if nothing else.

So I encourage you to capture little parts of your life. Whether it’s a day, or a week, or a year, photograph the little things that you think are boring.  They’re more charming and sentimental than you think.

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“Teach us… that we may feel the importance of every day, of every hour, as it passes.” – Jane Austen