Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Water - from happy to healing

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea. ~Isak Dinesen

This week, Blog This issued a photographic challenge: water.
I started looking through my photos, thinking that perhaps I'd find some fantastic beach sunset photo that I could post.
I do have some nice beach sunset photos; from Perth (from Cottesloe Beach):
and Melbourne (from Frankston Beach):
Which are lovely, really (isn't it amazing that no matter where you go, the sunset looks great over the ocean?).
But while I was looking through, I kept noticing a whole lot of other water photos, which happen to coincide with some wonderful memories, moments and milestones in my life.

There's the obligatory bath photo:
And the solitary "walk along the beach" photo,
Which help remind me how much my kids love (loved) the water - from the bathroom to the beach.

There's the photos that remind me of happier times with my family, like our first real holiday as a family of four, when we first discovered the beautiful town of Merimbula:
Or when we spent a lovely 10 days in Brisbane, with much of our time spent by the pool:
There are the memories of simple summer evenings spent down by the river:
The times when fears won (Samuel would not go out on the water):
And the other times where fears were conquered, and new passions begun:
(it took all our powers of persuasion to get Sam onto the boat, but once he was out at sea, he was a convert, and headed out to sea as much as he could, mostly with his friend Ryan).

The water was where my beautiful oldest child showed his nurturing side, at a time when little brothers were the biggest pains ever:
And then there are the photos that remind me of what has been taken away from me.
(Samuel loved waterslides, and actually visited this pool complex just 4 days before he died).

And then, after all that we have been through, when it seemed like there might be nothing that would ever give us joy again, there are the photos that remind me that there is still some joy in the world. That water helped us start to heal.
I've been a 'water baby' all my life. I love the water in all its forms. And despite the fact that the most water I've seen this year is the tears that I've cried for my boy, I know that there is a little hope.

You can see the other posts in this challenge (and vote for your favourite from Thursday 10/6/10). Just click here.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for participating in the challenge - gorgeous photos, especially the bath shot - too cute!

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  2. I love this final shot Mel, it just seems to say so much. Thank you for sharing.

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