Weekend visitors
We were fortunate to have some family come in this weekend for a visit, and around here… that means a camera is not far behind. Just within a 30-hour visit, there were plenty of activities during what was an awesome weekend in Tennessee.
-shaun larson
Below: Among all the on-the-fly candid images from the weekend, we actually did squeeze in a few spontaneous portaits of this pair. Sometimes these moments just “appear” and you’ve got to be ready.
Below: This may be appear to be just a regular photo on the surface, but the story behind it is that during our Christmas holiday of 2005, Rebekah’s (my wife) mom unexpectedly passed away on Christmas Eve just before she was to see all the family returning for the holidays. Needless to say, that was a very tough holiday season with a long road of memories since. The photo below is Rebekah and her brother sorting a few special items that her mom left behind. On-looking of the activity is Rebekah’s brother’s daughter who only got to know her grandmother for a few years. I think this up-coming holiday season will also be a difficult one.
Below: On to happier times, it was time to celebrate our nephew’s third birthday and it was tough holding back the crowd from the iced cup-cakes.
Below: Oh, and if anyone wants to know where 1/2 of Franklin was on Saturday…. they were at the pumpkin patch! That place was crazy busy, but of course we were contributing to that. Whether we were adding to the busy or the crazy depends on who you ask! 
Of course a quick shot of our visitors was in order.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:04 am
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed looking at your albums and that I am touched by the picture of your wife & brother-in-law. I also recently lost my mom (June ‘06) and this will be my 1st Christmas without her. Thanksgiving was tough, but I know Christmas will be worse. My heart goes out to your wife & family for her loss.
Deborah
Lord, thank you for the blessing of family. During those times that are most grievous to us, may we find comfort in knowing that one day we can all be together again. I pray that should those times come for the Larson family, you will give them comfort & peace. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
November 30th, 2006 at 1:50 am
Hello, Deborah
Thanks so much for your comments. Yes, that image of Rebekah and her brother is a perfect example of an image that may be just a snap-shot to someone who doesn’t know the story behind it. We are now only weeks away from the 1-year mark her mom’s passing on Christmas Eve. While few things can rival what happened last year, this year will definitely have an absent feeling about it while everyone tries to move on. We all have visual impressions that are burned into our memory from that day and I’m sure they’ll be mentally playing back in each of our minds this Christmas Eve. On a happier note, Rebekah has tried to spread extra Christmas cheer this year and we have more decorations up than ever before. Part of it is having a new home to decorate and part of it is that we want this year to be more festive than ever. So far, so good.
I’m sorry to hear about your mom passing in June. A death in the family is definitely quite the educational experience in many areas, but unfortunately, when it’s all settled we’re still left with this unbelievable lack of comprehension for what happened. Even in the midst of handling the paramedics and funeral arrangements, we all literally out-loud asked each other if this was actually happening. I have never ever experienced something like that, nor can you explain it to someone who has not. I’m usually quite the analyst on “why” and “how” things are what they are, so it really drives me nuts that there are few answers about such a situation. I guess that’s where each person’s faith comes into play. I would like to think that last Christmas Eve helped prepare us for future deaths in the family, but I think they will only become harder as we go.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and I hope you have fond memories of your mom during the holidays. Sometimes memories are all we have and we have to make the most of them.
-shaun larson
December 29th, 2006 at 12:08 am
Shaun & Rebekah,
Hello. This is my first visit to your blog. I am a huge admirer of your photography though and visit your website often. I happened upon this post and it touched me deeply. This Christmas marked the 10 year anniversary of my mother’s death. I buried her on Christmas Eve in ‘96. Tragedy around this time of year has made Christmas a little bittersweet, but also more special. I hold onto the traditions and the memories my mother and I had together, and during the Christmas season we made so many. I would like to say that this year was easier than the first without her, but maybe because it is the 10th, it seemed just as difficult. Time does ease the pain, but never erases what that person meant to you. I hope you all had a very special Christmas.
Ellen
December 29th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Hello there, Ellen
Thanks so much for visiting the site often, visiting the blog, and for posting your note. It sounds like you can very much relate to our family Christmas of 2005, and I’ve been surprised at how many people are in a similar situation by having a loved one die during the holidays. I guess with people passing away every day, it really shouldn’t amaze me that it happens during the holidays too, but perhaps it’s the fact that so many people who we know tell us they’ve had a similar thing happen to their family.
Growing up in the small town where our parents live, there was this house on one of the main streets that was always decorated very well for the holidays. Lots of lights, wreaths, trees, etc. They had a daughter close to my age. One holiday season in the years when we were teens their daughter had an emergency prodcedure that ended in her passing away a few days later which was at Christmas time. Since that time, we’ve grown up and moved to the Nashville area. Each year, we return to visit our parents for Christmas and upon arriving to town we pass that house on the way to our parents’ house. Never again did I see the grand decorations they always had displayed. It always saddens me to see how something has impacted their lives in such a manner and robbed them of the cheer and happiness they once had. When Rebekah’s mom died, we agreed that we would take the approach of ensuring that we would always treasure our holidays.
This holiday season turned out to be a good one for our families. It was full of past memories as well as making new ones. Rebekah’s mom will always be remembered and there will never a Christmas Eve when each of us will not be replaying in our minds the events of 2005. I think one reason deaths at the holidays seem to have an elevated impact may not really be about the holidays themselves but rather that’s one of the times when families get together after having distanced themselves geographically due to careers and growth, so what we’re really missing is the togetherness that we thought would always be available to us.
I wish you a Happy New Year, Ellen, and hope you still had a Merry Christmas.
-shaun larson