That Sky Though...

I've watched the clouds move by us for far too long now and I'm starting to think this photography stuff has truly taken over my heart, as I find a photo opportunity in far too many things. We were driving past a dairy farm, last night, and I couldn't help but notice the dust that was being kicked up by the herd of cows and the way said dust casted shadows on the scene; I found myself daydreaming about bringing my camera to the dairy and firing away at the various scenes of grazing and feeding.

My attention quickly turned to my godson, who happened to be sitting next to me, and who is also growing up far too quickly! Our destination was night fishing and we didn't want to be out too late since that's when the bugs and mice seem to invade our space. To be frank, neither of us are spooked by either but at some point I'm afraid that the kid is going to grab a rodent and attempt to use it for bait.

It has been close to five or six years since his my godson's mother was carrying him on her back during their walk to the bus stop to send him off to school. There were dozens of mornings I would be leaving for work and see all of the neighborhood kids scurrying off to the bus stop, 98% of them without their parents. During these mornings, I would think about how tirelessly my parents used to transport me and my siblings from home, to school, to practice, and from practice. The adage that a parent's work is never done is so true in that parents who are present will always remain present within a child's life.

My life has been one of so much adventure and it's always humbling to sit and think about the journey and who I've become along the way. Perhaps, it's due to the fact that I was a quirky child who never fully grew up or that I'm now the adult who isn't un-hip, kids have always been able to identify with me and me with kids. I'm the uncle, tio, pedrino, to a few families throughout this world of ours.

As these kids grow so do we as adults, in my mind there is no option for them to fail because we're a village working for their betterment within the chaos which this world throws at us all. I'm not the smartest person within any room but I would argue that I'm often the one who has their ear to the ground the most. IF we fail to listen, we fail to learn, and IF we fail to see then we will forever fail to have a destination to aim for in life.

Recently, my godson was asked what his dreams were in life, now mind you he's 10yrs old, I could have answered that question for him but I sat quietly as he came up with his own answer. "My dream, um, I don't have many, maybe it's to play baseball since that's what I put the most time into", mind you during this pandemic his baseball IQ has increased dramatically from say a few months prior, so I can see why his interest was there. The person asking said question wasn't overly convinced with the little guy's answer and asked him if he had any other dreams which he said, "No not really".

A few months back, I was asked the same question by someone and my answer was more along the lines of, "What are dreams versus reality". My dreams do not control my daily life, the reality of my daily life controls my daily life. The job which I have at hand is to not be a complete dumbass and mess up the hard work so many people in the village did in order for me to be right here, right now.

My godson hates pictures and I hate the fact this pandemic is keeping you all away from seeing my smile and new mustache, new tattoos and iced out grill. I kid I don't have a mouth full of glitter or do I. As I sat and watched the color of the sky change, I thought about all that has changed around me as well. These days are perplexing, the new normal is ushering in the new weird and I'm not wanting either.

If nothing else, I hope I leave behind a lifetime of memories to those who will remember my name and or deeds. This little dude is going to be eleven years of age soon and pass me up in height, I hope he continues to lean on his parents and me for guidance and I hope we can stand and take more pictures underneath this ever so beautiful sky.

Big shout out to God for painting this masterpiece and also Nike for keeping our feet laced, Carhartt for the pants and shirt, and The Hundreds for the cap... Did I thank God though for the sky!