Project 365: The End

January 5, 2008

And so after 52 weeks, my Project 365 is at last finished. The last week includes a whopping 22 photos, so that should make up for any I've missed throughout the year.

The burning question is: will I do this again in 2008? Let me quote myself from my 365 blog:

This project has been an amazing experience. I have always enjoyed taking photos, but taking purposeful photos of everyday life this past year has been completely different than focusing on "event" photos. But it's also been time-consuming to make this weekly post. Very, very time consuming. And so, coming up in 2008, I'm going to switch to Project 52. My goal is to select one photo each week that sums up our week. That may be more of a challenge than I'm bargaining for, but I am loath to part with the photojourney entirely. And so I'd better get that camera out again....

(It's very strange to quote oneself, by the way.) So, that's the plan. My fear is that if I discontinue the project completely, I will forget to take photos. What I have enjoyed most about the project is the capturing of the little things that make up our life here in SmallWorld: reading books, climbing trees, blowing bubbles, burning sugar, cooking together, building blanket houses, playing guitar, taking walks, splashing in the river, breathing in the mountains, savoring the village and enjoying friends, being a family.

As my children grow I am aware more and more of the passage of time--of how short, indeed, this season is when we are parents with young children. Oh, I used to roll my eyes inwardly at all those people who said "Enjoy them now! They grow up so fast!" I used to think, "Yeah, yeah, yeah--we'll be potty training forever; we'll be pushing that Little Tykes Coupe forever; we'll be trying to find the lids to sippy cups forever." And now we've moved in to algebra and dating and earrings and gift cards on one end of the spectrum; thanksfully, we still have Legos and Barbie dolls and read-alouds for years yet to come. But those years do, indeed, move quickly. So I'll continue to capture what I can in still-life, and the rest, enjoy.