Merry Christmas 2016

      3 Comments on Merry Christmas 2016

It’s time for my annual Christmas card posting tradition.  I have no idea why I started this tradition, but I honestly like having an easy place to reference my Christmas cards each year when I’m creating the next one (I pulled up the last few years’ pictures at the craft store last week to make sure I wasn’t copying any major elements, lol!), so here is the 2016 Christmas card:

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Sadly, I didn’t get my cards out until December 23rd, so no one received theirs before Christmas, but I guess after-Christmas cards are just as good, right? 😉

We’ve had a nice Christmas, fairly low-key this year due to various work schedules (including my husband’s).  I ate pretty well yesterday, but I can’t lie: I’ve had more than my share of food today.  What can I say, I love Christmas pancakes and mimosas. 😀  Thank goodness it’s only one day a year!

In addition to the many blessings of family and friends, as well as some tangible presents, I received an extra-special gift this year.  Jamie’s team had a hockey game Friday night (two days before Christmas…yay).  It was a tough game, with his team going down 4-0 in the first 5 minutes. 😮  However, although they did eventually lose, they played much better in the second and third periods, coming back from that big early deficit to make it interesting.

Right before the game, the coach told me that a reporter from the paper would be there, and that he would probably come find me to ask about pictures. He did indeed find me, and although I was a bit anxious, I tried to just act cool (lol), and I asked him what he was looking for.  His reply was, “Just send me your 5 or so best action shots.” No pressure! 😮

When the game started, I was really nervous about taking pictures, but then I just told myself to do what I always do: take lots of pictures, and try to focus on the “story” moments. After the game, I rushed home to process the 700+ photos I’d taken, because the game ended about 8:30, and he asked me to have the images to him by 10pm.  Jamie got home after I’d had a chance to download the RAW files, and he stood behind me as I reviewed and rated them, offering his own input, as well. A lot of times, when I’m reviewing game pictures, there are a few pictures that I look at and say, “Wow, that’s a great picture!” Unfortunately, this game was not one of those. :/  I struggled to find good ones, but I pulled out 10 and sent them to him at 9:58pm. 😉  In my email, I said that there wasn’t as much “action” during this game as I would have liked, but that I hoped they would find one that would work for what he needed.

I was surprised to get a response almost immediately from the reporter, who declared them “perfect” and even asked me if I shoot the school’s hockey games often.  Which made me laugh, of course. 😉  He said that they are short on sports photographers and often look for additional help during the busy season, so he would pass my information along to his sports editor.  That put a big smile on my face, and I went to sleep a lot less stressed than I had been.

But Saturday morning, the smile on my face got even bigger.  I was out Christmas shopping after running with my girlfriends at 7am when my phone started started going off: many of my local friends were texting me, asking me if I’d seen Jamie in the paper.  I had no idea which picture they’d used, but my personal favorite was a great save by our goalie that included Jamie in the shot, so I was excited to find out that they must have used it.

As it turns out, they used not just one, not two, but three of my pictures, and as if that wasn’t awesome enough, they even put one at the top of the front page of the paper!!

 

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I made the front page! Er, I mean this kid I took a picture of made the front page. 😉

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It was a very long article, and they used two additional pictures I sent, including one of our goalie’s awesome saves, with my own kid front and center in the shot. 🙂

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Look! That’s my name!!! I got credit! 😀

I did once aspire to be a journalist, and do have a minor in the subject, but fate had other plans for me.  Still, even though it isn’t exactly how I planned, I’m pretty excited about getting my first official byline in a newspaper.   🙂

It was fun to show Jamie the paper with his picture front and center on the sports section. Genuine smiles are pretty rare for that surly teenager these days, but I definitely saw one yesterday.  And I of course sported one myself all day during holiday parties and church service whenever family or friends asked me about it.  I definitely think that was the best present I got this year. 😀

Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading!

 

3 thoughts on “Merry Christmas 2016

  1. Cindy R

    Congrats on your photos appearing in the paper!! Exciting for both you and your son! Your family’s Christmas card is beautiful! Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

    Reply

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