Christina's Blog

Living in the same house for over 8 years means you accumulate lots of stuff – clothes you’ve outgrown get boxed in the attic, old toys get stashed in the garage, DVDs your kids no longer watch sit stacked on a shelf.  In the beginning stages of moving we grabbed a few boxes and started with the easy things we knew we’d be bringing with us, but probably wouldn’t need over the next month.  Then the reality crept in that we were going to need much more than “a few” boxes and that we really needed to get organized to determine what things we should give away (or throw away) and what we wanted to keep.  If you haven’t done this kind of de-cluttering in a while, it might be surprising just how hard it is.  There is of course the initial layer of junk that’s obvious and it’s fairly easy to fill a few boxes of items to donate, but mostly it’s pretty tough to separate out our needs from our emotional attachment to things.

I actually thought this would be harder for the kids, but I was totally off-base.  A perfect example was the day Zander and I tackled his bookshelf.  I let him start by just looking through his stack of books and grabbing any he really loved, but he only grabbed 2 (out of like 40!)  Clearly he would be sad not to take more of them, I thought, so I started taking them off the shelf one at a time and asking him “keep or donate?”  He breezed right through this part, and mostly said “donate” in a very sure voice – I, on the other hand, kept sneaking my favorites into the keep pile.  I had perfectly logical reasons – this one I gave him for Valentine’s Day when he was 2 and I even wrote a little note inside, this one was his favorite bedtime story for almost 4 months, this one was the first book he “read” to me.  As I sat in the pile of books that day I realized that I was going to have the toughest time with this moving thing… because truthfully I probably had accumulated the most memories in this house.  It’s not the “stuff” we want to keep, but the memories they carry, the moments they represent.

We eventually finished our packing, threw away most of our junk, donated a lot great items, and moved in to our new house.  But I’m not going to feel bad at all about the yellow toy bunny stashed away in my new closet – it was the first toy that ever made Jillian laugh and I’m not ever going to want to let go of that memory, even if it takes an extra box to keep it around.

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I was recently asked to visit Duke Hospital to photograph a family who’s son was undergoing treatment for a serious illness.  I was excited about the chance to do this, especially as it was a surprise gift from a friend of the family and I know just how much a portrait can mean to someone during difficult times.

When I arrived at the hospital, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I always try to be sensitive to the fact that these are stressful circumstances and it’s natural that people may not feel particularly open to photographs or strangers.  Imagine my surprise though, when I was welcomed into their hospital room as if I were an old friend.  It wasn’t until several minutes had passed, along with a little conversation, that I realized that they didn’t even know what I was there!  Well, they knew a friend was sending a surprise, but had no idea what it was.  Mom mentioned she was hoping for a massage, but I convinced her I’m a much better photographer than masseuse. 

After I recovered from my embarrassment over not having properly introduced myself, we chatted a while… about their family and Chase, his recent diagnosis, and his upcoming treatments.  Chase offered me snacks and drinks, which I politely declined, but he was persistent.  In the end, he got me with his offer of a piece of chocolate – who can turn down chocolate??  We then set about trying to capture a few good portraits of both Chase and his family (minus one sibling who unfortunately hadn’t arrived in town yet.)

I cannot imagine having someone show up at my front door, tell me they were there to take my portrait and then give me 5 minutes to “get ready” …but that’s kind of exactly what I did to the Rudisill family.  They were kind and warm and welcoming to me, and I only hope I was able to capture a bit of the hope and love permeating the room that day.  Chase is continuing his battle with cancer and I wanted to send out a wish of hope and share this story, along with a few of the beautiful images I was able to create for them.  Keep fighting, Chase!

Check it out – National “Steal Candy from Your Kids” Week is only 5 days away!  For those of you unfamiliar with this brilliantly-conceived holiday, that would be the week following Halloween.  It’s true – parents all across America have been celebrating this holiday in secret for decades (my apologies for going public with the details, but I’m too excited!)

It all started a long, long time ago when a very tired (and chocolate-deprived) Mom decided it was about time her children started paying her back for all the sleepless nights, 3 am feedings, and temper tantrums she had endured over the years.  So she dressed them up creatively in outfits that would best convey her parenting struggles – a devil costume for the most mischievous one, a kangaroo outfit for the one who was always jumping on the furniture, and a scary monster for the one who’s 3-year-old meltdowns could send anyone screaming from the room in fear.

Then she handed them each a small bag and proceeded to march them door to door, asking for candy – no one really remembers if she explicitly stated the candy was for her, but the plan worked!  Parents around the country quickly heard rumors about the truck-load of chocolate these kids hauled in that night and it didn’t take long for a tradition to begin.

So why “trick or treat”?  Theories abound, but the most-popular explanation leans on the following definitions of the words:

trick [trik] -noun

1. 1. a crafty or underhanded device, maneuver, stratagem, or the like, intended to deceive or cheat; artifice; ruse; wile.
   2. a clever or ingenious device or expedient; adroit technique: the tricks of the trade.

It’s actually quite possible that the original phrase was more like “artifice and treat.”  Dictionary.com states that artifice is a synonym of trick and that “like trick , but to a greater degree, artifice  emphasizes the cleverness, ingenuity, or cunning with which the proceeding is devised: an artifice of diabolical ingenuity.”  Sounds just like a Mom to me!  Oh, and the “treat” part is obvious, no?

So enjoy your upcoming special week with your kids’ candy and have a safe and happy Halloween.  (And while you’re enjoying that 4th piece of miniature Snickers®, don’t forget to say a quiet thank you to the brilliant Mom who conceived this crazy idea in the first place!)