Passion

Passion... and I don't mean hot, under the covers (or not), lust-filled desire. I'm talking about that compelling interest that occupies your thoughts first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It's the thing that perhaps you dream about and spend an inordinate amount of time during waking hours either engaged in or wanting to.

So what happens when you have more than one of these compelling interests and one day you wake up and one is becoming more of a "love interest" than the other?

That's what's happening to me. For six years, I've devoted time, energy and money to a particular passion that initially drew me to it, rewarded me by fueling my creative juices, gave me lots of positive feedback and allowed me to meet incredible people. Since the first of the year, my heart has been captured by another and I'm finding the siren song irresistible.

The only way I could cope with this push/pull was to set aside passion number one, photography, for at least a month, perhaps longer. And for every resolution, there's always an exception which I've already made. There are certain clients to whom I just can't say "no." These are the folks I can't wait to see and for whom I truly want to capture memorable moments. I'm sure I'll continue to make those exceptions, but I'm not out beating the bushes for new clients.

In the meantime, I've become compulsive about writing - not this blog which is obvious since this is my first in 2015 and it's the last day of January! I've decided this is the year to pull my father's stories out of the file cabinet and weave them into a memoir about his life. For some reason, it's much easier to write about someone else, even though a family member, than it is to write about myself. Now that I've committed to my father's project, lots of wonderful things are happening. I've been a member of a writer's group that meets monthly for almost a year, but this month two other memoirists are joining the group, both published authors who will be such an inspiration, along with the already talented women in the group.

I also found a company that is converting VHS tapes of my father and his stories into a CD that I'll actually be able to use. But most importantly, I've been able to spend time with my 80 year old sister, Lore, learning more about her mother, my dad's first wife. She had in her possession letters written by her mother, Dorothy, to my dad, Webb, over a period of four years from 1936 to 1939. Those letters are now on loan to me.

I find I'm also more enthused about teaching my memoir writing class at the Puyallup Senior Activity Center. I'm experiencing the discipline of writing that I talk to my students about every Friday. It's a good idea to be able to do what you teach!

Will I tire of this passion too? Perhaps. Will I be able to pick up photography again where I left off? I don't know. But the beauty of it all is that I am blessed to be able to have these kind of choices, these kind of interests. I have something positive to look forward to each day. Who knows - perhaps there are still other undiscovered passions in my future, other sirens that will call my name.