Photos

Sometimes a photo is worth more than a thousand words so today I share three photos.  Over the years, I have had photos taken by the ships' photographers on many, many cruises.  My ex-husband used to hate it when I dragged him around to a few of the setups but it cost nothing but our time to take them and I have always loved dressing up on cruises so wanted to capture it.

We bought a few of the photos over the years that were decent but in general I never felt like I photographed well.  My smile never looked quite right, nor did his. 

Fast forward to this year, I first took photos on the Zuiderdam cruise in June and found two good enough to buy and take home.  My smile was starting to show through on that cruise.  And then I took some this week with absolutely no intention of buying more as I had the two from June.

But wow, look at these!

I don't even recognize this woman.  There is so much joy in her smile and even her eyes, especially that first one.  And the second one has so much spunk in it.  And the calm in that last one.  

I don't know why but I'm tearing up as I write this and really look at these photos.  I think it is a mix of awe at how far I've come, a whole lot of gratitude for this second chance to write my story, and a fair bit of grief at the joy and full life I missed out on for two decades of my life.

The woman in these photos is so full of life and has a beauty that bubbles out from within.