Did any of you parents ever spend countless hours filming your kids while they were sleeping or eating or doing any number of other boring activities? I know I did...and I've got the videos to prove it.
On one of my many trips to the Smoky Mountains, I rented a cabin from Mountain Laurel Chalets that was called Squirrel Hill. Every evening we'd get a visit from this one bear and it would just sit there and clean itself. We had ringside seats from up on the high balcony and I found myself getting lost watching it. I'd break out my camcorder and just sit there filming, as though it were one of my kids back when they were young. It was a peaceful time and was amazing to watch this wild animal chilling out in the backyard without a care in the world. It didn't have a job to rush back to or grass to cut or a book to write or a workout to labor through...my idea of vacation.
To a lesser extent, when I was watching that bear, I felt like I did when I'd just sit there and film my kids drooling at the mouth and bumping into walls. It didn't matter what they were doing at the time...I knew there was no place I'd rather be.
There is no greater blessing than to have kids and I thank God every day for Brandon and Grace. Nowadays, they're much more independent and they barely sit still long enough for me to photograph, much less film, but it's a joy to be able to have meaningful conversations with them and watch them mature into responsible and successful young adults.
Thanks for reading.
BJ Bourg is the author of JAMES 516 (Amber Quill Press, 2014), THE SEVENTH TAKING (Amber Quill Press, 2015), and HOLLOW CRIB (Five Star-Gale-Cengage, 2016).
© 2015 BJ Bourg
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