I *Heart* Boston, and Other Important Declarations

If anyone wonders why I've been slow to post a message lately (the blogging rule of thumb is at least several posts per week), I developed a chip on my shoulder after finding out how much I owe the IRS for 2006. I know, I know, it's almost 2008, but I can either respond to my clients in a timely fashion or hide out tallying statements and receipts. Even with assistance, tax prep requires a certain amount of my undivided attention that it doesn't generally receive until I have no other choice. There, I said it. Based on my non-expert preliminary calculations, 2006 was looking comfortable profit-wise: not too little, not too much. After an insightful discussion with my accountant, it came to light I was quite wrong about what the IRS expected from me. The news hit hard, an unexpected sock in the gut dissolving a good deal of my joy and pride regarding my growth this year as an artist and businessperson. The IRS and that mean teacher in third grade who gave me a "C" in Art because I colored outside the lines as a form of protest became one and the same in my mind. I moped around the rest of the afternoon following my talk with the accountant, trying to think of ways to outsmart the IRS in the future (by spending every last dime of course).

I cheered up a little that night when my Red Sox beat Cleveland (yuck) in Game 5 of the ALCS. I went to bed thinking I was kind of like the Red Sox, down 3 games to 2 but not going down without a fight. On Friday morning I made a call to a special adviser for photographers trusted by many local colleagues, step one in the right direction. I was still mad, but making an effort to take control. Friday evening I spoke with my mom on the phone- she was out with her grandson somewhere on Pond Lanier, as some folks are now calling the formerly dignified Lake Sidney. I listened to her familiar voice call after my nephew, and at the end of the conversation, she said, "Don't let this trouble you. Live each day to the fullest. Live each day to enjoy every moment. " Common enough words, but spoken by a woman who believed what she was saying, who was in fact living that moment for the sheer enjoyment of it. I heard the words, I heard the easy conviction in her tone, but I wasn't buying it yet.

Her words echoed in my head, though, and I approached Helen & Scott's wedding today determined to be in the moment and be creative to my fullest potential. Now, at the end of the day, I feel I have a lot to be proud of again. It will take a few weeks to uncover the story I want to tell, but one image is clearly remarkable and begs sharing, a thousand words that say I love what I do:




XoXo, Laura