A New Bestie… Miss Aimee

WARNING: I’m pouring my heart out on this one. If that doesn’t interest you (it’s sappy) then don’t read this post and wait for the next one (coming soon – I’m working through all my images).

Introducing one of my new ‘Besties’, Aimee. She lives in Arizona with her husband and gaggle of kids. We met at a photography conference with 100 other photographers over the weekend on the California coast. This event has changed my life; it’s been turned upside down and I’m completely serious. Like a ton of bricks just fell on me (and I LOVE it). There was so much learning, sharing and laughing (y’all know how I like to laugh). We were lucky to have several amazing photographers to lead us in shoots with volunteer couples and models on the beach, in the rain and walking about town. Yeah, rain. Flying to CA you wouldn’t expect 3 days of rain but that’s what we got. It was actually invigorating to work outside our box, so to speak.

Anyway, back to Aimee. Have you ever met someone for the first time that you feel like you’ve known forever? That’s what happened with me and Aimee. Her brother, another bestie (so glad Cathy came up with this expression so I can have more than 1 best friend), explained it like this…

It’s like you just KNOW each other without having to explain a thing. That happened with me and My Lisa upon our first meeting – it was instant, difficult to explain. Aimee and I laughed like school girls LONG and HARD when we were together (wish we had more time to laugh). She said her abs hurt in the morning from the workout I gave her. It was pee-your-pants kind of laughter that gets funnier as you try and calm down then the other person makes a peep and starts it all over again. We have the same taste in food and pink lemonade (as long as it’s got the right ratio of tart to sweet). There’s no explaining each other. Sure, you tell stories and share experiences but there’s no judgement or criticism – just a bunch of love. I couldn’t get enough of her and just wanted to stuff her in my pocket and take her home; maybe put her in a little terrarium on my kitchen counter. Perhaps next to the giant rooster?

When I got on the plane to fly back home Sunday night, I couldn’t help but think about the time I had and all the changes that will make my business better. As I sat in a middle seat, I started leaking out of both eyes. I wasn’t bawling like a baby (that came later), it was just a gentle tear fest that didn’t want to stop for a while. Tried to think about why I was crying (were they happy or sad tears) but I guess that just made it worse because I just kept thinking about all the great people I now count as friends and family. The kind of family you get to hand pick (that’s a little shout-out to Ryan). After a while I got the leak under control (call a plumber already) and read the paper to take my mind off of it. As we prepared for landing the leaking started back up again when I was brought to the realization that my weekend is really over and I was going back to the real world (it was like a fantasy, really). I was excited to be back with my family and smooch on my kids, don’t get me wrong – I love my home (not Utah as a whole, just where I live), but the euphoria from the weekend is something I didn’t want to wear off. As Ben asked about the trip I told him about the logistics because when I started talking about the people I will miss the leak showed up again.

As soon as I got home I called Aimee to find out how their drive back home was going. That was when I realized that the euphoria doesn’t have to end. My new besties are just a phone call/text away.

So there’s a little glimps into the tender heart of Shannon (gotta stop before I leak again). No matter how tough I act I can be a cry baby at the drop of a hat (like I have been since Sunday night).

My cup runneth over. Aren’t I lucky?