Let’s talk about Monday. Presidents day – day off of school for the kids – day to laze about and/or find something fun to do out of the house. I’d promised Ruben he could have the old Panasonic Lumix FZ60 camera I’d had knocking around, after I got batteries, a charger and a lens cap for it. Once I’d fitted it out and charged it up, I got the menus opened and got everything set up the way it should be, and then all of a sudden it crashed and all the screens went black. I couldn’t figure out any way to get it operational and I was mighty peeved at not being able to fulfill my promise to the boy. Finally I acted on impulse, went online, and found the newest 2024 model, the FZ80D, and had it next-day-delivered. It arrived Sunday. That meant Monday was the day to take him out into the world and let him experiment for the first time! Difficult to say which of us was more excited!
I’d forgotten, of course, that first thing Monday morning Paul had scheduled the van for some work at our local auto shop, so bright and early I had to drive it over there and then he drove me back in Tom Truck. That meant I would be without transportation until the van was finished.
Thus, the planned photo excursion with Ruben and Ellie was postponed, with hopes that the van would be done before too late in the day and we might still make it before sunset. The kids had a lazy morning, all but Ruben, who got to go on a ride along with Laurent and Jacob while they ran errands.
Midday, however, we got an alarming phone call from Laurent. While they were loading groceries into her car after shopping at Sam’s Club, out of nowhere, Jacob had a seizure. It’s been 7 years since his first one, the one where he cracked his spine when he fell against an open cupboard door in the kitchen. This time he hit his head on the pavement and got scraped up some, but otherwise was not injured. We were so thankful Laurent was with him. She called the ambulance and took care of him till they arrived, then called to let us know, and brought Ruben home while Paul went to meet them at the hospital.
So obviously that changed our plans for the day, and we stayed close to home just biding our time and waiting to hear what the doctors had to say. Middle of the afternoon we got a call from the shop saying the van was finished, so Laurent drove me over there to pick it up. Then I went and picked up Natalie from her softball practice and not too long after that heard from Paul that they were releasing Jacob. Since they would be home for supper, it seemed like the only reasonable plan would be to get pizza. I mean, how could we not, after Geneva sent Jacob this meme?
So once they were back home, I looked at the sunlight and figured we had just enough time to stop by the park for some photos before going to pick up the pizza. Ruben, Ellie and I jumped in the van and took off. I think Ruben has a good start on his photography career…
For this shoot I used my unicorn lens – one of the few third-party RF lenses that were made before Canon banned third-party lenses for their mirrorless cameras: the Viltrox 85mm f/1.8. It is a dream, sharp as a tack with the creamiest bokeh – and while not as bright as the Canon f/1.2, it’s also neither as heavy nor as expensive.
So I’d have to say the day ended well: fun was had, photos were taken, Jacob came home – bruised, scraped and tired, but otherwise ok, and on his way to a new round of medication to manage his epilepsy. We take the good and the bad together and praise the Lord, who is with us through it all.
