Do you ever feel like a day has you wearing so many hats that you're not sure which layer of yourself might surface to the top? Will I lean toward my goofy side, my serious side, my mellow side, my melancholy side...or will today be like most days when all of these sides meld together into the multi-layered person known as ME? I've always loved nuance and anything multi-faceted or layered. It's how I like my food, my clothing (both in what I wear and design), decorating, and even the people that I love. I suppose I relish in the puzzle of trying to notice every detail or figure out and enjoy the many moods and gifts a person has to offer or the flavors a wonderful dish of ethnic food can include. (Ask close friends of mine about being at restaurants with me as I start rattling off the many spices or flavors in the dish I'm eating--Tara, Vicki, Tricia-you know what I'm talking about here).
Details are important to me and layering them the right way is something I try to do often. I love that human beings can work on and even master the art of layering when it comes to being a multi-faceted person who can keep it all together without ever seeming certifiable. Women are "known for" being multi-taskers--right? I believe this quality is somewhat akin to our ability to understand and be okay with the fact that human beings are beautifully complex creatures capable of feeling and expressing an infinite range of emotions, moods, talents...
and, in Bradford's case even faces:
This little guy is the matrix in our family. He's the middle child who glues us all together with his extremely keen sense-of-humor. Comedic timing is a heavy-dosage-gift God gave to Brad. He can disarm any stressful situation by using his gift wisely...and he does so quite often. I've been wanting to do a "Many Faces" photo shoot with him for awhile (you know, because these things need to be documented since I see these faces and more from him every day). I'll need the photo documentation as proof of his childhood antics just in case he ever considers growing up to become a boring adult. I don't think that will happen to him. After all, he's been saying he wants to be Jim Carrey when he grows up since he was only 5.
The photo shoot started off with my simply wanting to take advantage of the nice weather and have some alone time with Brad. He said if he had to endure my camera clicking in his face then he wanted to take a picture by the WHOVILLE TREE. The what??? I asked. My 10-year-old then took me on a walk to the neighborhood pond to his favorite goofy tree --he says it looks like something from a Dr. Seuss story and I totally agree. The silly curve of this tree inspired Brad to get right into a wave of hilarious facial contortions. I started snapping photos and I am now loving how the "Many Faces" collage turned out. Even more, I love that the collage is a metaphor for who my son is (who we all are, really). We are happy, goofy, sad, contemplative, somber, spiritual, angry.
We are lots of things to lots of people.
We are the total sum of all of our layers and I think that's a beautiful thing.
There are many beautiful things that layering enhances. When using layering in your wardrobe or in interior decorating, the masters always say that editing is key to pulling off an unexpected yet impeccable design. It's okay to have that color pop of lemon ice yellow with a grey overcoat as long as you don't overdo it by adding yellow shoes, bag, earrings, and a purple hat. I believe this is true in people as well. Keeping the more colorful, complex, even "louder" layers of one's personality well-edited (or socially in check) better represents who we really are as people. Bradford is not just one of those faces from today's photo shoot. He's not even mostly one of those faces. Instead, he's a balanced amalgam of all of them together--a fun and exciting human being--all his many layers wrapped into one him. I think that's how we all are and I'm grateful we come in layers. I'm embracing and inferring from this puzzle of life and hope you are as well.
As promised, and speaking of layers I added some more decorative ones today. Here are a few of them. BOO pillows on the leather sofa and jack-o-faced wreath on the front door.
Disco fever still to come. Until then, keep dancing.
~eva
Ps. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM. I love you so much!
