Thanks to pneumonia and the side-effects of antibiotics, I took a record low number of photos on this recent trip to Vancouver. Although the medications helped my lungs and bronchial passages, what I didn’t expect was how much it demotivated me to take photos or even propel myself out of my sick chair. I was like a sack of potatoes — a sad sack of Yukon Golds — gasping for breath and waiting for a mash. I didn’t know what to do with myself, the camera felt like it weighed a ton (it does, but that didn’t stop me before) and even picking it up seemed like a chore.
I never thought I’d say those words! Clearly, I was unwell! It is the strangest feeling to be trapped inside a body that won’t cooperate, to fight for enough breath to say just one sentence and have it come out so weakly that I needed to repeat myself. The medications worked well enough that I was fooled into thinking I was myself, but after a couple of days I could’ve sworn I was someone else — someone with only vague thoughts of photography. Was it the illness or the antibiotics talking?
It’s time to post some photos, even if just to prove to myself that I didn’t lug all my equipment to Vancouver for nothing. The photo above was taken at Mt. Seymour in North Vancouver, which is a Christmas sledding tradition for the kids if the weather cooperates and dumps enough snow, which it did — in spades. My father took the twins swimming by request (they didn’t want to go sledding), and the three older Ms went up the mountain with the three of us. It was one of those instances of “be careful what you wish for” because we didn’t see a speck of snow until we reached the top of the mountain, and when we arrived up there, it was whiteout conditions.
Maddy created some one-of-a-kind bracelets, manufactured in her little bracelet factory, and I showed her how to display her product line:
The big hit, present-wise, was Melissa’s remote control helicopter:
All the kids wanted a crack at it, and I was surprised it lasted more than a day considering all the delicate moving parts. One too many crashes took its toll on Day 2, which was immensely disappointing for Melissa but there were other things to play with, such as the newly-gifted Wii and Wii Sports for the family. Oh, the fights that ensued…
Finally, a photo of my father, who will be 74 years old this spring.
Decided to upload a smilier picture of him, since he’s more like this:
