A few weeks back I started a daily sunrise practice. Wake up, lace-up, find the sun. watch it rise.

We drive to the lake or the edge of town. Ben saunters about while I watch the sunrise (and take photos too).
Today we tried a different spot. The top of the trail. Perfect for watching the sun come up over the trees. It’s beautiful.

Anyhow Ben kept looking back behind us … a few moments later I heard a voice call out…
’I have a cat’.
It was a slight woman, pushing a cart and walking her cat on a leash. I’m not sure who this lady is but I’ve seen her a time or two on my walks.
Anyhow, I said, it’s ok Ben likes cats, but we’re just heading home.

This got me thinking about the characters of our town. The interesting folks we see a little or a lot.

Like the lady and her cat….
I imagined she lives a quiet life with a simple routine. Wake up, walk the cat, hunt for metals, and repeat the next day.
In my mind she is lonely.

Then there’s Stanley who I’ve been seeing pretty much every day since we moved to this town when I was 12.
He’s unkempt and always looks a little sad. He must be 75 by now.
Many walk right past him without saying hello. I quietly say Hi Stanley but I don’t think he’s ever said hi back.
My husband John always stops and says hello and asks how he is doing? He’ll always reply but rarely speaks first.
He wanders about, head hanging down, sits on the town benches, wanders some more, and is simply a part of this small town.

Then there’s Don who doesn’t miss the coffee shop morning or night.
It’s a given he’ll be there, drinking coffee and laughing big with all his coffee shop friends.

I could go on and on… it’s easy to notice ‘the regulars’ in a tiny town.

The lady and her cat got me thinking about my role in this town.

‘Oh, that’s John Klassen’s wife. She has a golden dog (I’m pretty sure more people know Ben’s name than mine.) She does something in the old antique store … not sure what. She doesn’t go out much.’

We all create stories of people in our minds. Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re not.

Maybe the cat lady is an amazing artist who collects metal for her art. Who knows? Right!

This morning my story of her was kinda sad and lonely. Why?
I was out alone with my dog, my camera, watching the sunrise. My life isn’t sad at all.

There's always a story. It's all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything's got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.” ― Terry Pratchett

Isn’t it interesting to think about the stories we tell?

Before I sign off…Two Things.

Have you checked out my Designing Layouts in Lightroom class?
The Lr print module is absolutely brilliant and this class breaks it all down in easy/peasy lessons. If you can imagine a layout, you can so easily design it in the Lr print module.

Here’s a quick video on how easy it is to create Instagram story layouts.

check out designing layouts in lightroom