The Sacrifice of Parenthood

March 09, 2011 • Leave a Comment

I often have people who are both parents, and not parents, ask “why would you want to go spend a week walking around Disney World, fighting the crowds?”

The answer is simple. My kids love it!

Being a parent is all about love & sacrifice. That doesn’t mean you have to give up your life as an adult, but your frame of mind changes after having kids. It’s no longer JUST about you.

A few years ago when Natalie’s grandmother died, one of her friends from work came to the funeral home for visitation. The kids asked why did that person come when they never knew “Momaw Crystal.” We told them it was because she came to see Mommy, and because she cared about Mommy.

That story made a really good moral. Too many times in life we do what’s convenient for us instead of doing what’s right for the people around us.

I feel like I’m blessed with the greatest job in the world, or at least Kentucky. I’ll be shooting the Sweet 16 next week when I get back and doing what I enjoy, so taking off a week to do something that makes my kids happy is more than worth it.

More UK Basketball

March 03, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Here are a few more shots from the UK-Florida game and the UK-Vandy game. I shot both games for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The All-A Classic

February 25, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Each year I cover The All-A Classic in Richmond for Touchstone Energy. I run my own little Photo Agency by providing images to newspapers across Kentucky. On any given day during the tournament I’ll have photos published from Paducah to Pikeville, and several points in between. It’s pretty much a photographer’s marathon with 30 games in 5 days. I knew I was going to be in trouble this year by trying to do it one month after surgery. So I recruited the help of my friends Jim Osborn and Chris Radcliffe. By Friday evening I found myself sitting in a stupor watching the game instead of shooting it, and decided it was time to turn it over to better eyes and go home. I was sound asleep by 8:45. I left my son Cameron there to watch the games with Jim, and after the last game was a thriller in overtime, they got home at 1:30. We left the door unlocked but Cameron didn’t know, and he thought it would be funny to ring the door bell several hundred times. At first I jumped up and hit the alarm clock, then I tried to answer my phone. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper when I opened the door.

The Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces win the girls championship

The 15th Region captures the boys title three years in a row, as Betsy Layne beats Louisville DeSales for the title.

Remember this name, Rebecca Greenwell of Owensboro Catholic is a sophomore who averages over 30 points a game!

Lexington Christian double-teamed Greenwell the entire game and she still scored 16 points.

Laura Kathryn, my onsite editor

The doorbell ringer himself

Jimmy Oz saves me and my shoulder by filling in for me for several games.

UK vs. Mississippi State

February 15, 2011 • Leave a Comment

My shoulder is much better now, and I was able to cover the UK-Mississippi State game for the Louisville Courier-Journal. Both coaches provided a lot of action to photograph.

How I Spent My Christmas Break

January 25, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Just like the first day of school, I’m going to write a small narrative on what I did over Christmas break. Of course it’s three weeks late, but I can get an excused absence for medical reasons. My right shoulder had been bothering me ever since I picked up a light stand and felt the pain on my very last wedding ever, back in August. Several thousand painful photos, The World Equestrian Games, a cortisone shot, physical therapy, and four months later, I had shoulder surgery on January 5th. I’m just now getting to where I can type and mouse again. It’s still a little sore, but I think I’m good for another 41 years.

We had a great Christmas as always. How can you not have a good Christmas with three kids who believe. We watched A Christmas Story a hundred times as usual, and they finally stood their ground and said no more Polar Express on Christmas Eve! Come on kids, Daddy loves that movie. We kept our new Christmas Day tradition going two years in a row by staying home all day, playing, being lazy, and going to eat Chinese, just like Ralphie and his family. Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra…Ra Ra Ra Ra!

After Christmas Natalie and I headed south to the Smokies for a few days of R&R sans kids. It was really pretty once we got there after being stuck in traffic forever on the interstate.

I brought in the New Years a little differently this year. The boys and I went Coon Hunting for the first time. I won’t mention any names, but a certain cousin of mine that I hunt with a lot, allowed us to get lost in the woods in the middle of the night. Then, shortly before midnight, I remembered that I had a GPS on my iPhone and thought it might be a good time to use it. So we brought in 2011, on a very memorable night, lost somewhere deep in the Carter County woods, between McGlone Creek and Jordan Fork. The only thing that would have made the night more complete would’ve been a little banjo music…ouch!

Finally, on January 8, I got to do something that I never thought I would do. I went to a wrestling match with Cameron and his friend Lee (sorry Jim Chadwick of Stanton, I mean no disrespect to the sport of wrestling, it’s just never been for me). But Cameron, however, loves it, and never misses a Monday or Friday night to watch it. He and Lee even give me verbal and written tests on the super stars of WWE, and they love to test my knowledge of different types of matches and the rules (rules!?! Really????). Anyway, I enjoyed it, and although I like to make fun of it, there is a lot of real pain and athleticism involved.

Well, that’s all I know to write for now Mrs. Whitabird, I’ll do it again when school starts back in August.