every line, every wrinkle tells a story....

There’s a story behind every wrinkle, therein lies beauty also.

here's a melody to listen to...press play while perusing pics (will forever remind me of this trip with baby bro, Adam)






My grandmother is so beautiful to me. I grew up in OH, where she’s from {Toledo}. She moved to SoCal {San Diego, where she currently resides}, before I was born. Because of that we looked forward to her visits “home” each year. Because of distance, I haven’t been very close to her my entire childhood. Each year we received 2 dollar bills in a sweet birthday card. I looked forward to those cards each year. I loved to read the note and to see her beautiful cursive writing. I’m sentimental that way. I love to see handwriting. It’s precious to me. In my adult years I cherish any moment I’ve had with her. Every picture I take of her and with her. Every hug. Every infectious laugh I get to hear. Every story she tells. Every song sung by her beautiful voice. Every song played on her organ. My beautiful grandmother is such an example to me. She’s sweet. She’s kind. She’s thoughtful. Her laugh is infectious. Her love is unending. She’s very giving and so loving. She hula dances. And learned to play the organ late in life. She’s classy and has always dressed so lovely. Her hair is thick and luscious. Her nails are always done and with or without makeup her skin glows. I want to be like her when I grow up. Her lines on her face tell me her story…
There are lines put there by holding the hands of dying loved ones and lines put there by waiting up all night worrying about her babies and her grand babies. There are lines caused by sleepless nights full of worrying about money and the things that shouldn’t have been said. Lines caused by sun and wind. Not all lines came from worry, regret, or grief. Lots came from laughing so hard tears fell from her eyes. Lines came from pure bliss. Some came from love and others from holding new born babies or embracing her many grandchildren, old and young. Lines came from saying goodbye after brief visits, never knowing when she’d see them again. Some lines come from lonliness having outlived 2 husbands. Some lines came from squinting while taking in the California sun or sitting on the beach in the Summer heat of San Diego or being out in the cold of Toledo’s blustery snowy days. None of them came by accident. Each and every one of them had to earn its place. They worked so hard to get there. Seems a shame to try to get rid of them, or hide them, or even not be proud of them. Without saying a word, her face tells her story. In every crack and crevice lives grown up adventures and comedies, tragedies, and long tangled tales. The lines on her face are beautiful and sad to me that the world sometimes thinks otherwise. In a world full of cremes, lotions, and potions. I wish we could stop to see the beauty behind them. Every wrinkle earned. Every laugh line beautiful.
Happy 88th Birthday, Alice, my sweet, beautiful, and lovely grandmother. I love you, xoxo…e

Here below are more images from our last visit in July of 2011.  {I know I know, my personal photography always takes a "back seat" to my professional} Just the way the cookie crumbles. However, with my new imac and 4 more gigs of RAM I just installed yesterday, expect faster more productivity for sure! It has made all the difference} Life is good.