bustin' buttons!

this is a big day around here....
the guys and i are headin' out....we're
gonna go hike in the mountains. and we're gonna
stop over in the town nearby. there's a gallery
there that i'm part of.

and today, yo yo becomes part of it as well.
he is bringing his own art and joining the gallery.

i am so tickled.

and this place.....this place holds so much symbolism
for me. the guys were with me when i found it. they
were with me for the whole journey with them.

the owner was the first business owner i ever worked
with who called the bone sighs 'bone sighs' right away.
i remember the first time i ever heard his voice.
he left a message for me and he told me he really liked
my work. and i could tell by his voice he 'got' them.

he became a huge figure in my life and in my learning
to believe in myself.

another artist there took me around to her paintings
and told me the stories of each painting. i found out
later she never does that. i was really lucky. it wasn't
long before we adopted each other as surrogate mom/daughter.

the place became a second home, the people a second family.
i called the gallery 'mine' when customers came in and
joked with them that i was taking it over cause i loved
it so much.

i've spent the nite in it all alone, listened to the
rain on the roof, slept in a recliner and soaked in the
place like a sponge.

today we take yo's work there.

he came in late last nite from a fund raiser he was invited
to. i believe he ended up being their photographer for the
nite too. i was already so proud of him for that. just
beamin' at him as he left to head out to it.

i am busting buttons with pride today.
i'm bringing fancy muffins and sparkling apple cider to
toast yo in the car as we drive! there will be whoopin'
and hollerin'. there will be stories. there will be life
planning talk for all of us. we all want to figure out
where we're goin'. so there will be brainstorming.
there will be laughing. groaning about hiking. submitting
of art. and just bein' together.

it's all a game.
i want to play.
and this part of the game...
this part....is the really wonderful part of the game.
i'm gonna grab it with all i got!