Not Running Alone

I recently started running again.  I know I have said it before, but I am going to say it again: Running is a perfect metaphor for life.  You have heard the statement that "it's the journey not the destination."  That is true in running, as it is in life.  When running, I see all sorts of sights along the way that I would not normally notice (the journey), but I always end up back in the same spot (the destination).  And while I am running, my mind (which is normally busy throughout the day thinking about my family, bills, laundry and other chores) is free to take its own journey.  I usually come up with my best ideas while I am running.  Most of the time, I am lucky enough to be able to run with a friend, which makes the journey even more meaningful, as we converse without even realizing how the miles are melting away.

Military life, especially, is like running.  You have the marathons (deployments), the fartleks (the "hurry up and wait" that we are all familiar with), sprints (the time between deployments - trying to hurry and get everything on your list done), cross country (PCS-ing and all the ups and downs that go with that), track (feeling like you are just running in circles), and treadmill (feeling like you are running but not getting anywhere).  And like any kind of running, military life is always better if you have a partner to "run" with.  I have been lucky enough to have various people in my life that are my running partners - whether they RUN with me, or "run" with me!

The New Year

Personally and professionally, I had a very successful 2010.  Despite the fact that my husband deployed in January, I was able to continue with my business and see it grow in the direction I envision.  Besides doing some regular portrait work, I was hired by the USO headquarters in Arlington, VA, to shoot the grand opening of the USO center here at Fort Riley.  It was a great networking opportunity!  I was also fortunate enough to be hired to do some work on the summer, fall, and winter issues of Manhattan Magazine.  It's all about building my portfolio.

I also found time to volunteer my photographic services to the USO, the Riley County Humane Society, Operation Love, and Homes for Our Troops.  I feel that it's important to give back to the community and support those organizations that share my passions.

This new year is going to be full of changes.  I will still be doing some portrait work, buy my main focus is going to be on event photography and photojournalism.  I know that these are not the areas where one typically sees the most income, but I find they are more exciting and fun for me.  I have to follow my heart, not my (empty) bank account!

The biggest change will be the relocating of my office!  Yes, in June I will be leaving the beautiful Flint Hills region of Kansas and making the long trek across the country to head back East.  I will be moving back to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.  (That's near Virginia Beach and Norfolk, for all you geographically-challenged folks.)  This move is full of excitement, as my family and I will be finding our "forever home" and living where we have already established some roots and friendships.  It is also a time of apprehension, as I will have to make new business connections and begin my networking all over again.