Free At Last...

jeffreaux2

Well it was bound to happen.

Last year we moved one of my daughters away to college. Our son had saved us this pain during his college years opting instead to commute to a closer school. She's been home all summer, and this semester-at-a-time move hasn't been all that bad. She came home at least every other weekend.

Last week though, my son left home for good. Perhaps we were so caught up in searching, bidding, appraisal, inspection, and closing that it didn't sink in.....but it sure did when I returned home from a long nightshift last Thursday to hear that he had moved his things and spent his first night away in his new home. I went to the room he occupied for most all of his life and it was bare...save for a bulletin board of old momentos. Whammo!!! It sank in then!!!!


Meanwhile back at the ranch the girls are fighting for our newly gained square footage at home!:rofl

Here he is on the afternoon of the closing, and on our way to his first home....a little bit happy to be a homeowner.



...we spent a few days helping him paint the kitchen, living and master bedroom before he made the move. He is planning for more paint work at an easier pace now that he is IN.

Elaine

Wow! That's a big deal! Congrats to him on owning his own place. At least it's not too far away. But I don't even want to think how it would feel to go to my own son's empty room. :cry Congrats to you and your wife for reaching this milestone!

JulieLawsonPhotography

Awww, I'm glad that I have a few more years before that...not a lot, but enough. Made me tear up a bit for you and your wife.

jeffreaux2

Elaine wrote:

Wow! That's a big deal! Congrats to him on owning his own place. At least it's not too far away. But I don't even want to think how it would feel to go to my own son's empty room. :cry Congrats to you and your wife for reaching this milestone!

Heh... It seems like he was 12 just yesterday. Every moment is a big deal Elaine. Relish yours... They are grown before you can imagine it.

Now... How'd your shoot go where's da pix?

Sorry for short iPod typed response.

divamum

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Heh... It seems like he was 12 just yesterday. Every moment is a big deal Elaine. Relish yours... They are grown before you can imagine it.

And this is why I take pictures of my girl every chance I get. It drives her NUTS, but I know how fast the time is going to go between now and when she's all growed up! I just wish I had more of her from about 4-9 - those were the p'n's years between when I stopped shooting film (not that i was any good - digital has taken me to a completely different level - but I was good about shooting regularly) and when I got the dslr.

Looks like it was quite the family effort getting him into the new abode - congrats to all!

Scott_Quier

I know just how you feel. Matthew hasn't yet "left home" for a place of his own, but it really hit home for Leslie and me when Matthew deployed to Iraq last October. Not really wanting to dredge up an old thread, but this has been me just about every day since then.

We still haven't moved his stuff out of his room. Maybe it's a good thing as he's due back home sometime at the end of Aug. :ivar (counting the days).

Ed911

I know what that feels like, Jeff. Mine are gone...one in South Beach, one in Savannah...and one just down the road...the one with the grandchildren. I've taken thousands of pictures of my grandson and granddaughter...remembering how it was when mine were growing up.

And you are right...they do grow up fast...one day preschool...the next day college, and then moved away for better job opportunities.

bdcolen

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Well it was bound to happen.

Last year we moved one of my daughters away to college. Our son had saved us this pain during his college years opting instead to commute to a closer school. She's been home all summer, and this semester-at-a-time move hasn't been all that bad. She came home at least every other weekend.

Last week though, my son left home for good. Perhaps we were so caught up in searching, bidding, appraisal, inspection, and closing that it didn't sink in.....but it sure did when I returned home from a long nightshift last Thursday to hear that he had moved his things and spent his first night away in his new home. I went to the room he occupied for most all of his life and it was bare...save for a bulletin board of old momentos. Whammo!!! It sank in then!!!!


Meanwhile back at the ranch the girls are fighting for our newly gained square footage at home!

Here he is on the afternoon of the closing, and on our way to his first home....a little bit happy to be a homeowner.



...we spent a few days helping him paint the kitchen, living and master bedroom before he made the move. He is planning for more paint work at an easier pace now that he is IN.

As one who often thinks my youngest is still going to be in the house when I move out , I feel your gain.:D And on the subject that allegedly brings us all here - I really like the second image. Wonderful use of the light, and great composition.

heatherfeather

Love the reflection in the first shot... It really puts you (photographer/dad) into the story- Which is such an important part. I certainly do not look forward to this stage of life... probably almost as much as I don't look forward to watching my parents grow old. Though there is a sweetness about every stage.

Not at all essential information, but is that red paint? It is, apparently, in my mind. When I came back to this thread this morning, I was surprised to see the photos were b & w... I had envisioned the paint color so strongly.

Hackbone

He'll soon realize what a great life he had! But.......they usually come home once in awhile.

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

Not at all essential information, but is that red paint? It is, apparently, in my mind. When I came back to this thread this morning, I was surprised to see the photos were b & w... I had envisioned the paint color so strongly.

Red?....

I gotta know......What ever would have given you that idea?

Red...

jeffreaux2

bdcolen wrote:

As one who often thinks my youngest is still going to be in the house when I move out , I feel your gain.:D And on the subject that allegedly brings us all here - I really like the second image. Wonderful use of the light, and great composition.

Thanks BD.....

....Most photographers seem to be able at some point to look at colors and see black and white. I am sure hoping Heather will come back and explain how she came to think the walls were red based on a BW image. THAT....would be a trick!

jeffreaux2

For Heather's sanity....

Elaine

Ahhh! I thought "red," too! I'm so glad to see the color! Looks great with the white cabinets.

divamum

Elaine wrote:

Ahhh! I thought "red," too! I'm so glad to see the color! Looks great with the white cabinets.

Yup, me too - in fact, I was pretty certain it was that brick/terracotta so when Heather posted I laughed because something in the reds family was my sense too ...

Of course, I've been obsessed with paintchips since we remodelled 18 months ago - the living room needs painting and I STILL can't figure out what colour to make it, so I think I see in paint colours now

heatherfeather

jeffreaux2 wrote:

For Heather's sanity....

I KNEW it! Ha Ha! Looks great!

I just used my spider sense to see the colors. (I have no idea how I knew!)

jeffreaux2

Hackbone wrote:

He'll soon realize what a great life he had! But.......they usually come home once in awhile.

Well he isn't far away....and we have teased that he is near enough to smell the supper table. He began an internship 2 years before he graduated college, and was able to work full time for those last two years and keep his full time student status until he graduated...and then lived with us a little over a year after he graduated. I told him there was no rush....but I suppose it was time.

It's tough financially for young people these days. Those three years working in his profession gave him a nice head start.

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

I KNEW it! Ha Ha! Looks great!

I just used my spider sense to see the colors. (I have no idea how I knew!)

Okay....so I guess when your monitor needs to be calibrated you just load up a black and white image and tune it by ESP?

You gals are really freakin' me out on this one.

Seriously.....you could guess colors in a circus....or hang out in Jackson Square(a New Orleans hang out for artists and fortune tellers) and make a living off the tourists....


...and Diva.....the rest of the place is "Man-Cave". Shades of grey in the MBR and a super rich leather brown in the LR. The brown IMO was the most appealing of the colors.....nuetral...yet super rich....deep...and was a great companion to the leather seating that he put in there.

His girlfriend is (temporarily I hope!) flirting with the idea of tossing away her four year degree in biology and dropping from Physician Assistant school to pursue interior design. Hopefully that will pass.

heatherfeather

So I am curious... can you do it again? What color is my kitchen?

(ESP connection open)

JAG

heatherfeather wrote:

So I am curious... can you do it again? What color is my kitchen?

(ESP connection open)

OH! OH! OH! I KNOW I KNOW!!!! (doing my best Hayshack voice )

heatherfeather

JAG wrote:

OH! OH! OH! I KNOW I KNOW!!!! (doing my best Hayshack voice )

No cheating:nono !!!! Or I'll have to use my mind melting ESP skills on you!

JAG

Jeff, I am sure you are very proud of your son...and daughter! I have yet to experience the empty nest syndrome, even though my eldest is 25 and married. I have 4 kids and a sil all still living at "home" and sometimes I wish they would be able to move. You are very blessed to have been able to put them through college and for them to be as stable as they are financially in this economy.

Congrates on your new 'status' and hope that you get some time to go enjoy the next faze of your life.

JAG

heatherfeather wrote:

No cheating:nono !!!! Or I'll have to use my mind melting ESP skills on you!

AAAHHHH....I'M MELTING....melting.....:gone

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

So I am curious... can you do it again? What color is my kitchen?

(ESP connection open)

Red?

heatherfeather

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Red?

OK, so obviously you don't "got the skills".
Might be a man blockage.


Anyone else? (Sorry to steal your thread, Jeff... well MOSTLY sorry.)

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

OK, so obviously you don't "got the skills".
Might be a man blockage.


Anyone else? (Sorry to steal your thread, Jeff... well MOSTLY sorry.)

Green?

heatherfeather

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Green?

:nah

jeffreaux2

only blue brown and purple left......frustrating part is that I am sure...positive I have seen photos taken in your kitchen before....but dont remember...THAT is for sure a guy thing.:D

bdcolen

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Thanks BD.....

....Most photographers seem to be able at some point to look at colors and see black and white. I am sure hoping Heather will come back and explain how she came to think the walls were red based on a BW image. THAT....would be a trick!

Actually, I was guessing the same thing, and I see from your color version that we were right. My guess is based on the fact that my wife has had a "red room" in our houses or apartments for the past 29 years. And while your red looks a bit different than ours, there was something about the black and white shot that said "red room? Coming up!"