A Wheelchair View

Beyond the Silver Lining by Etha Walters I took this photo while sitting on the patio of my new apartment. The blue sky and big fluffy clouds greeted me with such promise for a fresh new start. When my husband told me a year ago that he wanted a divorce, I had no idea how much my life would change. The last six months have been the most devastating. I sold everything that I could to move including much of my photography equipment, and literally felt stripped of everything. This heavenly view, right off my patio gives me great hope in what is to come. It is just me and Miss Cleo (My cat) now, and I am adjusting quite well to my new environment, and yes, living alone. Moving furniture and boxes around with my body and my wheelchair reminds me that I am still strong and I can still do this. Other challenges take a little more practice and commitment, but that is just life in a wheelchair. Now that I am settled, it is time to rebuild my life. The kids are gone and I am now single ...

Photo by Envy Graphix Here we are in 2012! Has the excitement worn off yet? For me this is a new year that compliments a new chapter in my life both personally and professionally. I have embraced the symbolic nature that a new year holds and I am rolling with it as far as it takes me! However, I might have to stop occasionally to recharge my batteries. 2011 was a year of great loss. My family and I got hit with some financial difficulties, which caused my already strained marriage to buckle and implode. I have had to sell most of my photography equipment, to make ends meet and keep us fed. And my daughter has had her own life changing struggles she has had to endure. We have deemed 2011 the year of “Murphy’s Law (‘If anything can go wrong, it will" .) I want to educate and enlighten others by my experiences but, I also want to maintain a level of privacy and professionalism; please bear with me while I find that balance. Needless to say I was happy to see the end to 20...

It has become a long term goal to move to Cincinnati, Ohio from my small town of Hamilton, Ohio for quite some time. The reasons are countless, more accessibility in housing, transportation and jobs, as well as more opportunity to show and sell my artwork. My husband and I are going through a separation so I thought that this is the moment to make the big move happen. One more leap of faith into the middle of great hope and humble dreams. Here in Hamilton there are few resources for the kind of independence that a big city has to offer, but moving further away from family and into the arms of friends that I haven’t even made yet is both scary and exciting. However, I know if I do not make the effort and take the risk I will regret it. With every goal comes effort and resilience. I must keep a determination to go knock on the next door when the one I have been beating on closes. Sometimes I feel like I am just having a staring contest with a teddy bear and it is inevitable that I will ...