Caption This 103

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Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2008

About this photo: We're exploring "new" as part of this week's Thematic Photographic, and after you've submitted a caption for this photo, I hope you'll click over here and share a photo or two for the latest TP theme.

Hard to believe it's been three weeks since I last posted a new Caption This entry (here's #102). I let a bunch of things slide over the holidays because I needed to relax. I tossed all my technology in a bag and spent most days not knowing what time it was.

I know that's not exactly the ideal way to build blog traffic, but I'm learning that life doesn't always have to revolve around being tethered to a laptop. Or a BlackBerry. Or anything with an on/off button, a battery and an AC adapter.

What I will remember is spending countless hours in a pool with our kids - mostly spent underwater while they "surfed" on my back - and coming home with just as much color on my face as my wife (most years, I was as pale as I was when I left because I spent most of our vacation working. No more.) I'll also remember sleeping in, waking up late, and welcoming the day cradling a mug of coffee in my hands and chatting about anything and everything with mishpacha (family) while the kids quietly - or not so quietly, whatever - played.

On the beach this day, I captured this photo that, in my vacation-softened mind, says "new" better than anything I brought home. You never quite know what a child's hands will get into. And no matter how dirty they get in the process, you always know they'll help him/her explore something new and wonderful. Kinda appropriate for this week's "new" theme, no?

Your turn: Please come up with a witty, fun or memorable caption for this photo. For more background on how Caption This works, feel free to click here. Otherwise, hit the Comment link below and submit as many as you possibly can. We encourage serial submitters, after all.

About the photo of a forlorn staircase at night: I like shooting in low light because it paints even the most ordinary scenes with additional poignancy. This same spot during the day just isn't as memorable. Honorable menschens go to these amazingly patient folks:

Salubrina: "Time steps on."
Judy: "Stairway to heaven?"
Moon: "Wouldn't want to be here alone at night"
Terry: "Riser."
Sara: Moi: "Shadow play."

Sara's "Stairs to no where" stuck in my mind, because I've never seen anyone actually use these stairs, and I have no idea where they lead. Maybe someday I'll find out, but for now, thanks to Sara, these stairs now have a tagline. Sara grew up in the U.S. but currently lives in the UK. Her blog, Garnet's Life Adventures, is a delightful reflection of her journey, and is always a fulfilling read. Please visit her to see what I mean.