Thematic Photographic 71 - Open

Talk to the hand
London, ON, August 2009

Quick note: Before I begin, I'd like to share my deepest thanks to Mojo for stepping in and running Thematic Photographic at a time when I was patently unable to do much of anything from my end. I'm still not sure I'm anywhere near capable (see here if you don't know what I'm talking about, and here for the full run of entries), but his wise counsel throughout the last three weeks has helped me realize that now is as proper a time as any to dip my toes back in the waters and see what happens. Friends like him are rare indeed.

This week's theme, open, comes to us courtesy of Mojo. It's a great theme for me to return to, as it represents what lies ahead, what's possible, what awaits us and how we intend to make it ours. It's a lovely little metaphor for life, and I think it'll be good for the soul - mine and, hopefully, yours - to explore it and ponder the bigger meaning.

Our youngest son, Noah, contributed the appropriate body parts for this particular photo. He was having some alone time with me and my wife, as his brother and sister were in Montreal for their summer adventure with my in-laws. At that moment, everything was possible as we sat at our table in a neighborhood restaurant and bantered with him. No one knew how close we were to such profound change - definitely a "before" day.

Yet as I look at this photo of my son's hand with the full benefit of hindsight, I feel it represents a future for him that he simply needs to reach out and grab. He's that kind of kid, and if anything can change my world view and snap me back into something resembling a functional life, it'll look - and feel - something like this.

Your turn: Please share an open-themed photo on your blog, then post a link in a comment here. Repeat as often as you wish: This is supposed to be fun, and G-d knows we all need it. For more details on how TP works, please click here.