100/365: The Hidden View

I've had a hard time taking photos and writing the last few days.  I was fixated on it yesterday as I sat down to upload photos and blog.  When I decided to begin my 365 project, my goal was twofold; first was to increase the amount of photos I was taking.  I realized that when Boo was first born, I was a shutterbug, snapping the smallest thing.   But I haven't been that fidel about it as of late.  I realized that during 2009, I took more photos of races than I did my kids.  That bothered me.  My second aim was to increase the amount of blogs I posted.  I wanted to move past my race reports, although I still plan on writing them during the season, to move consistent writing.  The reasoning is that my bucket list still has the line item of getting published.  It has felt like my posts the last few days have been no more than checking an item off my to do list.  Writing is easiest to me when I find something that moves me, something that has a pull. 

Today on my way home, I found a photo that did just that.  This house is on the corner of Union and Delmar.  I've passed it many times, but today it spoke to me.  In another life, I would be an architect, specializing in restoration of historic buildings.  I've always had a thing about structures that have withstood the test of time.  This house has.  I would have loved to pull over and take a variety of shots so that you could see the true beauty of the front facade.  But this angle actually speaks to me more.  At one time, this house was surrounded by other homes.  You would not have seen the rear additions, the functional walls.  You would have only seen the front, what the builder wanted you to see. However time has not been kind to this neighborhood.  Urban decay has plagued the structures that once surrounded this one.  Can you picture the building that might have stood on the corner, possibly a shop of some type?  I would almost guarantee both the front and the side were designed for aesthetics. 

How much is this lone building like we are as people?  We put up that front facade that we expect everyone will see.  But what happens when those flanking structures fall?  What happens when we stand alone?  What's the harsh reality that remains?  How do you make sure you will stand the test of time?  Those aren't simple questions to answer, but I believe that the answers lie in knowing who you are and being happy with that person.  It's also realizing that people are going to form a perception of you, good, bad or indifferent, and you cannot control it.  Being a bit of a control freak and pleaser, that part is hard for me.  It's hard to accept that I can do my best and be the nicest, kindest, ooey-gooeyist person I know how to be and someone may still just not like me.  But I also know, that someone my view me like I view this house.  Even though I see the parts that were supposed to be hidden, I still think it's lovely.