change is bittersweet

“There are two kinds of people. One kind, you can tell just by looking at them at what point they congealed into their final selves. It might be a very nice self, but you know you can expect no more surprises from it. Whereas, the other kind keeps moving, changing. With these people, you can never say, “X stops here,” or “Now I know all there is to know about Y.” That doesn’t mean they’re unstable.  Ah, no, far from it.  They are fluid. They keep moving forward and making new trysts with life, and the motion of it keeps them young. In my opinion, they are the only people who are still alive.’”

Earlier this year I cut this out of the parade section of the paper and taped it into my calendar.  It resonated with me, and left me feeling uncomfortable at the same time.  I think of myself as being fluid, but also content with just settling in.  Was one necessarily better than the other?

Today, exactly 48 minutes ago as I type this, the sale of our house in Prairie Village closed, and it now belongs to new owners.  It’s a bittersweet moment, as we loved our house, filled with light, space and soaring ceilings, it felt like I was on vacation in my own home.  How great is that?

Vacation smack dab in the middle of the country, however.  So, after six years in the midwest, the Hogarth family continues its journey and will lay down some roots in the east coast. Brian’s new job brings him to museums all around New York, and Anna and I on occasion get to go with him.  For this, I am so grateful.

But I am sad to leave our wonderful neighbors and friends back in Kansas, who merit a future blog post of their own.  The warmth and generosity of spirit that Midwest folks are known for is no exaggeration.  I will miss you dear friends, but will return to KC to see you!

In the meantime, time for moving forward and making new trysts with life. If you live in the NY/NJ tri-state area and want to have coffee together, please look me up.  And please spread the work, a dynamic, talented and hard-working new portrait photographer is in town!

Here are some pictures of our (former) house, that I grabbed from the real estate agent’s website. And some portraits I took recently in the creek/waterway behind the house.  Boy, I will miss having that outdoor studio right in my backyard.  But then again, there’s certainly no shortage of compelling things to look at and use as backdrops here. I can’t wait to get started!