Well I had a post all lined up for you guys today and then I had to move some things around. But man! Let me tell you guys! This month has been SUPER busy! I mean, October is normally the busiest month of the year for photographers. At least in the Midwest. Because here we have that awesome natural phenomenon of the leaves changing color on the trees. Everyone seems to want that visual in the background of their images. And I can’t blame them really. It is beautiful and I do love fall. So it’s when I usually try to get our family portraits done too.

But for some reason this year feels particularly busy. It could be because I have the extra school contract this year, which means double the dance, sports, and group photos (and double the editing). Perhaps it’s because I was gone for a conference at the beginning of the month and Ryan is gone for the next three days for a conference too. Or maybe it’s because of all the things we’re working on for the adoption and the stress that’s coming along with it. It could also be the personal projects I’m trying to make time for – my fine art photography and the book I’m writing. Though to be honest, I haven’t worked on any of them in at least a month because there simply has not been time. Whatever the case may be – this October has been full of a ton of crazy awesome things, and it appears as though it might stay that way through November too.

One of the things I’m doing… actually tomorrow.. is speaking at the Decatur Camera Club. I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous. As much as I’d like to be, I don’t feel like I’m the greatest public speaker. In general – I don’t feel like I’m good at talking… It’s why I write so much. It’s why I’m a blogger and not a vlogger. I have no problem talking with one or two people, but put me in front of a group and I get really nervous and forget things. So I’m trying my darnedest to spend today getting prepared for that so that I don’t look like a fool and I actually sound intelligent.

The truth is, as bubbly and fun-loving as I can be, I’m an introvert by nature, and I need my down time. So all this constant going has me feeling like I’m running on fumes. I was telling Ryan last night I feel like I’m trapped in a pool where if I really stretch, my toes are just barely able to touch the bottom. So in order to safely exist in this pool – I have to tread water for long periods of time. And when I can’t tread water any longer – I can try to “stand” but even that “rest” feels like a great deal of effort as I stretch to keep my head above water. I am grateful for the busy-ness though because I know all too soon it’s going to be cold and gross out and my income will greatly diminish.

Actually giving myself the time to just sit here and write this to you guys has been oddly relieving. Just taking these few minutes to allow myself a chance to breathe and just be has been fantastic! So thank you guys for giving me somewhere that I can share and be genuinely me. I think tomorrow I’ll have another piece from my new Fine Art Photography series for all of you. So Friday should put us back on track to our normal more structured posts. 🙂