This is my friend, Jan. It's her birthday today!
I wanted to photograph her ... to capture her spunk, her wisdom, her never give up spirit. Jan is always engaged in life's events, curious and ready to go! When she came to the studio, before Covid-19 upturned our lives, I asked her to share some words of wisdom. These jewels from Jan have an added weight, and a little more sparkle after the last few months!
"Sunshine -
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."
-James Barrie
"The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
"Daily, we must learn to rearrange." (RIGHT?)
I was very fortunate to attend Jan's 80th Birthday party last year. Everyone wore red, her favorite color. Her kids and grand-kids were to bring a word that reminded them of Jan and tell a story. Here are a few that I remember (you'll just have to take my word for it that the accompanying stories were great!)
Family (always comes first)
Welcoming
Supportive
Energizer
Determined
Generous
Leftovers (love and creativity from the refrigerator!)
Sweetheart
The last is from her husband Dale. They just celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. "She will always be my sweetheart" and he told the story of Jan becoming the Sweetcorn Sweetheart Queen in Iowa. (of course, with the original trophy in hand!)
Beautiful words for a beautiful life.
I had lunch with Jan's daughter, Julie today. I told her I was writing this blog. She added another truth bomb from Jan:
"Keep your eyes wide open!"
(with exaggerated eye opening, of course!)
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