Chess and Life...

This past weekend I spent time in Nashville with my brother and his best friend Smitty. I went to help take pics of a chess tournament--one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, chess tournaments in the country. I thought I would post a few of the pics that were still on my camera by the end of the weekend. I had to clear a lot of them out of my memory card because we took hundreds of pictures, and I had to clear out all the pics that I had cataloged from one round before taking pictures of the next round. So the pictures I had left on my camera were from the final round of picture taking. I had a great time, albeit my legs felt like they might fall off from the hundreds of squats and lunges I had to do to get good pictures of these kids playing chess so intently.





Besides learning a ton about my camera and getting so much more experience with how to maneuver it, I also spent time with my brother who I haven't seen in almost 2 years. It made me realize how much I miss having him in my life and how important my brother and sister are to me. I can't imagine what kind of life I would have without the two of them. They have impacted and enriched my life in so many ways, and I wish I could spend more time with both of them. It makes me realize how important it is to live close to family, no matter how much I want to move...I'm beginning to realize that maybe moving away from my family and everything I know is not the right choice for me right now.

In light of all this, is the fact that I'm also dealing with my parents' divorce and what that means in regard to what happens to our "family." It's not quite as easy as I thought it would be at 27 to handle the collapse of a unit of people you have only known a certain way your whole life, no matter how dysfunctional it is. When I was at my mom's house recently, I picked up some old pictures that used to be hanging in the kitchen on, what I just realized is, a Coors Light mirror, which I assume used to hang in my parents' deli in Ohio (which they owned until I was 4). I have taken pictures of these old pictures with my new camera so I can post them here for your enjoyment. I know you were all wondering what I looked like as a baby...ha ha. :) The other people in the pics are the rest of my family many, many years ago when I was a mere baby. These are some of my favorite pictures because I can't remember a time in my life when these weren't hanging up in our house.

Canoeing with mom and Marika...

In front of the family deli (Rudi's deli)...

Dad, Josh, and me in front of the deli...

Josh shoveling snow... :)