Filed under: Uncategorized
He says he saw me first. I say I saw him first.
It was April, 1997 and we were on a hot sticky school bus (number 11) in South Mississippi.
I noticed his eyes first, sparkling mischievously behind the longest eyelashes I had ever seen on a boy. The second thing I noticed was his dimpled smile and perfect, white teeth. I was 14 years old and my heart totally melted in my chest for the first time in my life.
Later, around midnight on May 25, 1997, he would tell me that he noticed my waist length blonde hair and had to restrain himself reaching across the seat and touching it. We stayed on the phone the entire night. He was 15, but his soul was much much older. We both discovered that we had already realized that the world was big and we had so much time, so much to learn, so much to do. The best part about that night, was realizing that we both understood.
that sacrifices would be just another part of the journey
that love was about more than romance
that people could make true, unbreakable promises and mean it
That understanding- that honesty- we shared that night, even as children- ultimately led us down a life altering path towards each other.
From May 25, 1997 to May 25, 2009… Every relationship experience, every first, every good, every bad, every heart-soaring and heart breaking, every memory, every idea, every dream, every moment… all of it has been wrapped up in each other.
How rare is that?
That we are the only people who have been able to truly break each other’s hearts? That we are the only people who have been able to truly love each other’s hearts?
There is another thing we talked about on that night, 12 years ago today…
yet one more thing we understood…
That is, if everyone on Earth could know what we knew, if everyone could feel what we felt and love how we loved…
then everyone would know what it was to be truly happy.
That night, we made a wish for everyone else. And for us.
That it would last.
That we’d always look at each other with wonder and tenderness and understanding.
And lucky for us…
Summer, 1998 (photo courtesy of my momma)
Summer, 2008 (photo courtesy of Angie Hayes)
Happy Anniversary, my lovey.
Bing
To the outside world we all grow old.
But not to brothers and sisters.
We know each other as we always were.
We know each other’s hearts.
We share private family jokes.
We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.
We live outside the touch of time.
-Clara Ortega
Meet Chloe (one of my beautiful ballerinas) and her awesome brother, Cade. These kiddos have the uncanny ability to make me throw my head back in a fit of laughter nearly every time I interact with them. I can bet that things are never boring at their house!
Their relationship is the perfect mix of hugs and bickering, compassion and hair pulling, protectiveness and name calling.
They love each other the way only a brother and sister can.
Off to spread some sunshine,
Bing
Ninja Thought for the Day,
“If you are really there, where you are shouldn’t matter.”
-from the International Order of Ninjas
Filed under: connection, dance studio, friends, ninjas, photography, sunshine
Two weeks until the show. Everyone is excited, nervous, thrilled to be a part of it. I am very busy… busier than I think I’ve ever been in my whole life. But I love it!
However,
there is a familiar feeling that is creeping up.
Knowing that these are the last two weeks of an amazing year… Knowing that I will have to say goodbye to the kids and parents for the summer… Knowing that I will walk around a little bit empty until these incredible people are a part of my daily routine again.
I’m already missing them.
Their giggles, their hugs, their insights (“Ms. Bing, your knees smell like ice cream!”).
I will miss watching their movement.
Clumsy, soulful, erratic, silly, joyful, beautiful.
Cross your fingers and your toes for me…
That I will not be a blubbering, sobbing, mess when the time comes….
Off to soak up some sunshine…. (otherwise known as opening the curtains to my home office while I work! haha!)
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
Being a ninja is not about being there; it’s about having the impact of your presence felt whether you were there or not.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Edited May 19, 2009…
So…
We got too excited.
He isn’t cancer free… he’s just finished with treatment.
They have to monitor his white blood cell count and scan him and keep an eye on the remaining bits of tumor for the next year.
If nothing changes, he’ll be considered “in remission”.
They say the cancer has an 80% chance of reoccurring in one year.
But I say… my brother will be in that 20%.
Bing
Original post:
January 7th, our worlds are rocked. Brad is having emergency brain surgery and They say he may not make it.
January 8th, They say Brad has cancer and it is a horrible kind. They say he may never get completely better.
February 9th, Brad starts Chemo… They say he will be in treatment until June.
April 10th, Brad is now finished with chemo and onto radiation. They say he will be needing 33 treatments. They say he won’t be the same.
May 12, Tomorrow Brad gets his last radiation treatment…. not even close to needing 33.
…….and They were right about one thing… Brad is not the same.
BRAD IS CANCER FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
He is a living, breathing, sarcastic, funny, redneck, superman, history making, CANCER SURVIVOR!!!!!!!!
That is all.
Please return to your regularly scheduled Tuesday evening….
…except…
maybe return with a little more Bradley Miracle Magic in your heart?
Love,
Bing
Oh, and Dr. Benn and Dr. Johnson… you now have iconic hero status.. my family cannot be more grateful for your dedication and amazing care. You guys are definitely a big part Superman Brad’s super powers!!!!!!!
Some of you know this, some of you don’t, but my actual college degree is in Marriage and Family Therapy and Early Childhood Development (all bunched together, they called it “Human Development”.)
I have always been endlessly fascinated by our connections with each other.
How do we learn to connect?
How do we mess it up?
How do we have stronger connections with some people and broken or unreachable connections with others?
It is a topic that I continue to study, but these days I do not look in my college texts and academic journals.
I look in front of my lens.
Off to spread some sunshine!
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
Ninjas do not practice illusion. Ninjas practice the illusion of illusion.
Once a year, I leave my life for one weekend and gather with about 80 other photographers for an amazing time in Oklahoma.
What exactly is in Oklahoma?
Quirky diner owners and hidden treasures on the famous Rt. 66:
The coolest drinks….
Boys who wear panda ears and deranged Indian Chieftains……
wait…
we have those in Tennessee too..
Friends who are strange and wonderful and speak “Bing” fluently:
(last photo courtesy of Scott Plauche and Peter Tellone)
There is also something intangibly magic about our little gathering spot in Oklahoma. We are all kindred spirits because of the way our eyes view the world as a series of photographs. It is amazing to be around these people and know that they just know.
They know that time is both precious and limitless.
They know that energy and mood can be frozen forever.
They know that our world and the people in it are worth remembering.
Thank you, my friends, for knowing and believing and for sharing.
See you all next year!
Off to dreamland,
Bing
Ninja thought of the day:
“You’ve got to be fast. So blindingly fast, in fact, that the light is jealous.”
-International Order of Ninjas Handbook
