The Last Shot

 Let's Slow Down 

    This will be my last post for my genius hour project and I have learned a lot while, also remembering what I always knew.  Life is not meant to be sped up, over shot and over consumed.  It is meant to be slow, processed and simple.  

    Since taking on this project I have spent more time in discovery mode with my girls.  When I pick them up from school my phone and camera is left at home.  

It is time to just be. 

    We take our time in everything we do.  We have often found our way to playing at the school longer or sliding down every slight incline on the walk home.  

We don't rush.  

We become kids.  

These are the memories I remember as a kid and I want them to feel that freedom too.  

     Our art shelf is overflowing, the games that were tucked away are out again, the girls dressed up and had a candlelight dinner together and listened to records.  Perhaps these moments may have happened, perhaps they wouldn't but, maybe if we didn't open up this freedom, these conversations about unplugging, engaging in the simple things, maybe they would have passed us by.

    My film camera is still always out, I am still ordering (expensive) film, and still taking the time to document those moments that make up our story of family.  A roll of film lasts longer now and I spend days not taking any photos. 

 It is peaceful.  

    I have also found the benefit to this experiment is my time spent on my phone has dropped significantly and I rarely find myself on social media.   If I am not reaching for my phone to take a photo or change a song, there is no reason to reach, scroll, check a message, or email.  

I no longer get sucked in and can just be here, with my girls.  

    One night after school, my girls, the dog and I were playing outside.  They were running around in the snow, playing in forts as the dog barked and entertained herself.  It was a beautiful evening and the sky was starting to turn all shades of pink, purples and blues.  The girls stopped and looked towards the sun "look mama, the sky is pink!" "Look at that lighting" "It is beautiful" then quiet as we stopped and watched the sky change.    No photo was taken, no phone was present, it was just the three of us and a wild dog admiring the free show of Mother Nature.  

To have my girls stand with me and enjoy something as beautiful and simple as the sunset was a memory I will hold onto forever.

    Thank you for following along on this journey of slowing down and learning to see the beautiful simple life of ours through a roll of film.  I hope you learned something, or were reminded of something, I know I will continue to slow down and guide myself towards a more in the moment, simple, beautiful life.  

I hope you feel calm when you listen to the birds fly home in the evenings
I hope it's their songs that make you stop.
Listen
Watch
As the sun kisses the horizon 
a little longer each night
Reminding us how wonderfully simple this life can be.

Poem by Emma McCormick