Senior moment

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I had a great idea for a blog post this week. And by "had," I mean I lost it. Something that you could refer to as a "senior moment" if I was a bit older. Instead, we'll just say I'm forgetful.

Last Friday was a special night. It was senior night at HHS. Dinner for the senior band members with their family. I say family because that's what we all are. Sure, we're not all related... but these are parents, children and siblings that have known each other since grade school.

After dinner, we headed to the field for the last show these kids would perform at home. Sure, there's an away game tonight which caps off the season, but there's something in that moment at home.

The seniors from football, cheerleading and band were all recognized and walked across the field with their parents. We lined up for photos. It was another moment.

They entered the bleachers and played stand music for the last time at home. They watched the football game for the last time at home. "Hey Baby" bellowed from the baritone sax as they all sang along for the last time at home.

Yes, tonight will bring the true finale. But this won't be at home. I'm sure I'll get choked up because of it. Because it's a senior moment. Yes, there's parades left, and concert band, and more than half-a-year of school to go, but each moment seems to be zooming past.

So, I keep the camera handy, and much to Alex's chagrin, I use it. Often. I only had to spend half as much energy as I expected convincing her that her senior portraits really needed to be done before it got too cold out and the rain knocked the rest of the leaves out of the trees.

Camera in hand we went out and snapped some fall photos at the golden hour.

As much as I use the camera for photos of Alex, sometimes I even use it without her around.

The fall sunrises have been moody and gloomy for the most part this year. Every morning as I leave home, I pause and look across the field to see if it might make a pretty picture. Some mornings the sun is golden and the fog is hanging between the mountains. Other mornings have been so foggy that you can't tell that there's mountains out there.

Monday morning was a gorgeous view. I reached over to grab my camera and take a picture, only to realize I had left the camera on my dresser at home. Another senior moment. (The day before had been rainy, and I had my camera out in the gloom taking engagement photos for my niece. So, I left the camera in the house to completely dry out and there it stayed the next morning. )

This morning I took a detour because the lighting was impressive. I made sure there were no senior moments when I left the house and that my camera was indeed on the passenger seat. I'm glad I did.

Oregon Turnpike is still a pothole-ridden nightmare. The patch job they did amuses me. As a bonded road, the state decided that only certain parts were the result of the traffic that travels there and so only those parts needed fixing...but I digress.

When driving on a road that rough, one has to go just a tad bit slower than normal to avoid the potholes. I'm glad I did. In my morning wander, I came across a doe and two fawns in the field. The fawns were still suckling her. I slowed down to watch (more curious than anything) and photograph it. I don't think I had even seen this in the middle of a mowed field at the end of October. I snapped a few photos and carried on.

Something in my brain related this to how both my kids are now grown up... maybe this doe was living her own senior moment.

So now, I'm sitting here, still wondering what it was that I was really going to write about. My senior moment (aka total lack of remembering what I was really going to type) just another part of my day, of my week and my year.

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