After a Week Away

In a week that saw

Drive to Nashville

See eclipse

Swim in pool

Drive home

Unpack and repack

Fly to Colorado

Meet almost every waking hour

For four days

Fly home

My home, when I returned,

Needed a mother’s touch,

From the swim trunks on top of the laundry closet

To the floor of my bedroom,

From the empty refrigerator

To the empty breadbox,

From the toy-strewn playroom

To the laundry on the floor of the living room.

I breathed a restful appreciative sigh

As I surveyed the cleaned house

At end of day.

Hesitant

When I am driving to a photo shoot,

I think about canceling,

Or hope maybe they’ll cancel,

So I don’t have to do it,

Don’t have to test my abilities,

My technical expertise,

My experience and

Creative vision

In a short space of time,

Then perfect it later.

But when I drive home,

I am energetic and happy,

Thrilled to have seen

A beautiful family

Doing what they love.

Redeye

The few times I’ve taken off

In the wee hours

And woken in the morning

On the other side of the country

I have loved it.

Perhaps it’s not the best use of time,

Since I need naps for much of the day,

But the sense of completing a full day

In one place

And beginning a full day

In another place . . .

Delicious.