How time flies when you’re not having fun !:(

My mum, whom I’m the primary carer for, is getting worse. She can hardly move now – but on the bright side, she’s having a hip replaced on 5th May. She’s 83+1/2 and sound in mind and possibly in body but we’ll know when the operation is done as to how she recovers, which I hope she does and quickly.

There is some trepidation on my behalf because it will be just short of 3 years (3 weeks) since my father went in for a heart operation at 84+1/2 and never came out of it even though the operation was completely successful – he suffered a major heart attack during the night following the operation that morning – and never came off life support.

1+1/2 years since my mother-in-law went in for an operation and never left hospital even though her operation was completely successful – she seemed to just give up the fight like it was too much bother. She passed away 2 weeks before my eldest sons’ wedding.

So now, 1+1/2 years later, another elderly parent goes in for an operation. 3rd time lucky? Dear God, I hope so….....

So where does it leave me with this group?

This group is an idealist dream of mine, to give to the photographic community something which I feel that I can give, and that is, help with understanding posing, lighting and composition for classical (read FORMAL) portraiture. But when I moved my mother down to Edmonton (Qld) here, to next door, my time was no longer my own. I though that it would be easier to look after her here than having to travel to the Tablelands every week (as we were doing) to visit and do things for her…. I was wrong. However, I am pleased that she did move in next door because her safety and needs are more immediately able to be catered for.

These are tough times for me and to top it off, there are now something like 393 images awaiting moderation – read as critiquing. And it’s so daunting I feel like rejecting every last one of them and starting afresh BUT there are some really good tries and some excellent images submitted. The worst thing is my time is still not my own until mum is independant again – when will my life be my own again? 10 weeks? 16 weeks? The submissions will still keep coming in no matter what…

Maybe I should get heartless and say “I tried, but life just got in the way” and close the group down. That would make me feel like an abject failure. But in the words of someone supposedly wise, “It’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all!”

However, being the undecided chap that I am, I’m going to be patient, as you all have been with me, and let it ride for a while longer. Meanwhile I’m sure that some of you will keep submitting multiple variations of the same person, the same photos a number of times because you haven’t heard from me, bulk uploads, model shots, nudes, snapshots, informal portraits, flowers, etc. You see, I do visit every few days and look, reject the obvious and unrelated journal entries, and get my socks blown away by some of the absolutely glorious portraits that pop up from time to time.

etc. etc. etc. Cheers till next time….. keep well, keep safe, and look after each other – and thank you Bryn Jones for asking….....