LOTR, Celebration, & Grief...strange combination?

This week's topic for Focus 52 is celebration. I was stuck. I didn't want to do the traditional Independence Day celebration stuff, done that already. Then I stumbled upon this article in Variety about the 10 year anniversary of the release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. WHAT?! That's right, I'm a Tolkien fan & I have reason to celebrate. The article discusses the topic of longevity in the films. The writer, a film critic, writes very honestly. I like that. But there is more...

I read the books as a school girl, but not IN school (don't even get me started on why we don't require it in our schools). However, as an adult I have outlived two of my children & the grief of living without them is not pleasant. This is where the books/movies comes in...

LOTR & the prequel, The Hobbit, deal with themes that are universal & timeless. For each reader/viewer they touch a sensitive spot in  their own unique ways. For me it was a guide through my healing as a bereaved parent. I can't even begin to list all the quotes, concepts, & examples of courage & strength that these stories gave me but I will try.

Early in my bereavement I was given a very lengthy dissertation someone had written for school which compared the burden of the one ring that Frodo carried with the burden of grief that we bereaved parents carry. It was stunning. It was right on. It was speaking to me. Frodo was changing because of this ring, an evil force, that he carried on a journey (& trust me, it IS a journey). He needed to get rid of the ring, destroy it in the very place where it was created or it would consume him forever.

Frodo's trusty sidekick, Samwise Gamgee, was not named SamWISE for nothing. He is always there, helping Frodo carry his burden.  "I can't carry the ring, but I can carry you!" "Let it go!" "You have to destroy it!" and so many more moments from Sam. My personal favorite: "Look Mr. Frodo! There is light and beauty up there that no shadow can touch."

When Frodo said "I wish this ring had never come to me." Gandalf the wizard taught Frodo "That is not for us to decide. All we have to do is decide is what to do with the time we are given".

Boramir, a soldier of Gondor who tried to take the ring for himself but fell upon the moment he got one tiny taste of its evil said to Aragorn: "Forgive me, I did not see".

In a final scene, Frodo wrote: "How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back?" ... "There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep… that have taken hold."


I am a collector of all things Tolkien. I have t-shirts, jewelry, props, costumes, and I'm even making a huge applique quilt to celebrate a great piece of literature & film. All that said, I will leave you with some images, and more quotes to inspire you & help you celebrate the destruction of the burden of grief.


I love you all & thanks you for supporting my blog by reading & commenting. It gives me strength like Sam gave Frodo.

In memory & celebration of my beautiful girls, Cheyenne & Emily

Quotes...
Aragorn, book III: "His grief will not forget; but it will not darken his heart, it will teach him wisdom."


Merry & Aragorn, book III: On missing Pippin... "No, not a pipe. I don't think I'll smoke again... I shant ever be able to smoke again without thinking of him and that day when he rode up and was so polite." "Smoke then, and think of him!"


Galadriel: "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future".


Gandalf: "For the journey does not end here. Death is just another path, one we all must take. The grey rain curtain rolls back & all turns to silver glass. And then you see it...white shores & beyond. A far green country into the swift sunrise."

Focus 52: Morning Moments

Having shot but not posted for the last two weeks in the Focus 52 project I am determined not to miss this one! I caught these morning moments over a few days this last week. One day was my son's birthday.

Variety is a good thing!

This week's prompt over at Bliss & Folly, for the Focus 52 project, is VARIETY. Since I always blog about my personal daily wonders & occasionally post peeks of my client sessions, I thought a great way to explore the variety of my creative surges would be to do a post about my scrapbooking.

I started scrapbooking when my oldest daughter passed. It was very helpful in the grief healing process, and it helped me to celebrate & share her life. No, those pages are not posted here. I never photographed them it was a long time ago, though seems like yesterday.

I continued through my second daughter's life, and the scrapbooks for her were displayed at her funeral. This allowed me to share those sweet little moments with people who otherwise would never have known what a sweet & funny little girl she was. No, those pages are not posted either. I do have them photographed, but not saved on this computer. Sorry.

Now I get to scrapbook my son. He will live to be a ripe old wise man...if I have anything to do with it! His books are for everyone to watch him grow into the man we all hope to see our boys become. 

I even throw in some smaller projects about my own life, my travels, my wonderful husband, my passions, & whatever else I feel inspired to document for memory and archiving.

Did I mention it's also a great way to show off my favorite photos?????

Who am I?

I have been participating in a flickr group called Focus 52, a picture a week for a year. Jan from twoscoopz is amazing at managing such an active group! This week our optional prompt was "You". We were to try creating an image of who we are. If someone were to describe me I'd guess the first thing out of their mouth would be "always busy". They might also say "strong", only because I have survived the death of two of my three children. Oddly enough, I chose to post an image of a muffin. OK, it's really my son holding a muffin for the camera while he kisses me in the background. I went with it because when I ask myself "Who am I?" the word mom comes to mind first. I am a mom of three, not one. I still have my daughters in my heart, my mind, & my soul, every waking moment. While trying to decide what to share in this long overdue post I thought I'd take that prompt & go with it. So, by my own definition, not others, this is who I am:

I am a woman.

I am an identical twin.

I am a wife. WOW, that's an OLD picture of us!

I am a mom.

I am a free spirit (OK, I try to be)

I am a bereaved parent.

I am a high school drama teacher & theatre director.

I am photographer.

I am a scrap-booker.

Now, my question is this: Who are YOU???? Share with me how you define yourself, add your links to your blogs, facebboks, flickr, etc... & I PROMISE I will visit you there!