It never mattered if I was in a bad mood. All I had to do was walk Gregory to school, crossing the street, then walk back, crossing the street again. Without fail, as long as Bob was our crossing guard that day, I came home smiling.
It’s the Bob Effect.
Even last year, when Gregory went to a school on the other side of town, Bob was always smiling and waving as I drove by in my car.
I don’t know what it is about Bob that makes him such a smiley guy.
I mean, standing in the busy road holding up a stop sign and praying the cars will actually stop doesn’t seem like the sort of job that would guarantee unconditional smiling. Rain, freezing cold, thunderstorms, unbearable heat, it never seems to bother Bob. His beautiful smile has a light to it that seems to shine, soul to soul, and it stays with you for quite some time.
I’m not the only one affected by Bob’s happy demeanor. On the last day of school, I saw many parents walking by, giving Bob gifts and hugs and thanking him for being there for us.
In fact there are only two times I’ve ever seen Bob not smiling. There will, for example, be a stern look and possibly a shout whenever a car is not slowing down quickly enough at the sight of his stop sign. And once or twice, when a child was not particularly listening to his instructions to wait until the traffic was clearly stopped, Bob would assume the holding position, hand extended in a “don’t step into the crosswalk until I give the ok” stance, saying sternly, yet lovingly, “Wait. WAIT!”
Bob takes his job very seriously.
I think the reason Bob is so smiley is because he knows that he can have an impact on all the people, young and old, who cross his path, insuring their safety and brightening their day.
As for me, when I walk by people on the street now, I smile a big bright smile (most of the time — I’m trying really hard, Bob!) and I say “have a great day!” and whether or not I get a response, I feel like a lighter person deep to my core. It’s an inner smile that lifts me and can easily turn a disastrous morning — you know, a whacky-hair, cat-ate-my-homework, can’t-find-my-shoes, socks-don’t-match kind of day — into a contagiously happy morning.
That’s the Bob Effect.
I see Bob. He smiles. I smile back. I see you. I smile at you. You smile back.
So Bob, if you happen to be reading this, I want you to know how you’ve changed my life. Your outward smile, so beautiful by the way, has without question, made me a happier person. Thank you for being my crossing guard. May God bless you and bring you all the happiness that you give to others with your gorgeous smile.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:31 pm
Click the picture, or click here, for a bittersweet slide show from some of the pictures I’ve been taking this week.
The picture above is from the First Grade Author’s Tea. This annual event is usually held on the lawn but just as the children were filing out to meet their audience, rain began to fall and the reading was moved into the gym.
This is my G-rex, the Destroyer, (regular blog readers know him as Gregory) and his best friend, Hurricane Shane. This was Hurricane’s last week in our close-knit little community. Just hours after the last day of school yesterday, he and his family moved to another state. We will miss you, Hurricane! I chose the music — “As If We Never Said Goodbye” — because I really can’t stand that they’re leaving so I’m just going to go into intentional denial about that fact.
(Check back tomorrow for pictures from our last-day lunch.)
I also included a few pictures in the slide show of kindergarten graduation. I still remember Bradley’s graduation from kindergarten. He got sunscreen in his eyes and was up on the stage BAWLING until I finally went up there and took him off the stage. It was awful! But Gregory’s graduation last year was absolutely wonderful. I still love that slide show more than just about any one I’ve ever made. It still makes me cry. If you want to see it, send me a message or post a comment and I’ll send you the link in e-mail.
Ooooh! And check back next year in late June for a massive slide show project of eighth grade graduation. I’ve got BIG PLANS! Bradley’s class better be ready to be seeing a lot of me next year!
COMING SOON: A TRIBUTE TO BOB, the best crossing guard in the universe! Keep your eye on the blog!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 10:23 am
This was the last picture from Father’s Day. Isn’t that a sweet picture of Gregory, Mike and Bradley? It was a very long time in the making! Took me ALL DAY to get this shot!
This was the first one of the day, in Mike’s favorite (salad and breadsticks) restaurant, Olive Garden. Gregory was an unwilling participant in the pictures, saying, “I don’t know how to smile.” Yeah right. I have no problem getting natural smiles out of YOUR child, but mine, well, that’s another story.
He doesn’t know how to smile at my camera, the true child of a mamarazzi.
We were working on new headshots for Mike. Isn’t he cute!?
Here’s an outtake. (I’m a dead person for posting this.)
I love this one!
Here’s another outtake. Love it!!! (Lips tend to get dry during an intensive photoshoot, so occasionally I might say something like, “wet your lips.” But to my own husband, it might come out more like, “your lips look flat.” Hence, a really cute pucker and a major tummy smile from behind the camera!
Bradley was my photo assistant. His job was to hold the reflector. He did not enjoy this job at all. I think he was jealous of the fact that somebody else was the center of my camera attention, so when I turned the camera on him (after an hour or so of shooting his dad), he actually gave me a half-smile! Yay!
By the end of the shoot, Bradley was beat.
But being the mamarazzi that I am, I couldn’t resist trying to get a nice shot of all three of my men. Unfortunately, Gregory was not cooperating, and Bradley was too tired. (Reflectors are so heavy, you know.)
Mike was trying to get Gregory to smile. Meanwhile, Bradley was getting more and more bored.
Come ON, Gregory! If we get this done we can all go home!
Nope. (Focus, Bradley, just a minute longer…)
Nope. I love Bradley’s sequence of expressions in these — SO typical of his personality. But, as I said under the first picture, I did finally get the shot of my dreams, soon to be displayed on a desk near me! Yay!
Here’s Mike’s headshot. Thanks for your help Bradley, and for your patience, Gregory!
Here’s the second headshot. Always a good idea to have a couple of options. Isn’t he so handsome?
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 3:35 pm
We got a new bubble making thing the other day at the street fair.
As long as bubbles are flying in the air, my sons will chase them. I love bubbles.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:15 pm
The other day, Mike spotted this deer standing in our neighbor’s front yard. I subsequently followed the deer, along with a police cruiser who was trying to entice the deer into the woods or back towards the direction of the swamps. I know it’s common for people to spot deer in suburban New Jersey, but it’s not something you see everyday here on Main Street. He eventually disappeared into the woods.
This little robin is living in a nest in my arborvitae with two other little robins right outside my front door! They’re so close to the door that you can watch the mommy robin feed her babies. It’s TOO CUTE! (Coincidentally, deer LOVE to eat arborvitae trees. Arbs are like candy to them. Fortunately, the deer in my neighbor’s yard didn’t make it anywhere near our little nest.)
There’s momma!
She won’t fly up to feed them if I’m standing outside, so this was taken from inside the door, hence the bad contrast. Plus, she literally drops the worm into the baby’s mouth, then flies away. It all takes a split second, then she’s off to search for more worms. It’s kind of intoxicating to be so close to a little family right in my front yard. Next project: find the bunnys’ nest.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 10:34 am
Click the picture, or click here, for a fun slide show of MY family! I’ve been really busy lately, and missing my boys so much, that I took lots of pictures of our day.I have to admit, I was following my family around like serious paparazzi, using the flash like lightening on continuous burst shooting. The picture above is THE MOST PERFECT “MAMARAZZI” PICTURE EVER! I love it!
I was trying to prove to a photographer-friend that sometimes a little fill-flash is just right. In the slide show, almost every single picture I took outside used fill-flash. Not all of them are perfect, but keep in mind, every picture shown is straight out of the camera with no tweaking in photoshop.
Take this picture, for example. The flash is set so low it barely makes a difference. It looks perfectly natural, and yet, there’s just a bit of sparkle on the plum. (That plum came off our purple leaf plum — the one that some people swear is a fruitless variety. Uh huh.)Tree fans — also note that there’s a new picture in the slide show of a zelkova at Borough Hall. We lost one last year, but the remaining 13 are looking great this year!
Here’s another great example of a picture that benefited from fill. It was about 3 in the afternoon and the sun was very bright. Without a subtle flash, the shadows on Bradley’s and Gabe’s faces would have been much darker. The fill lightens them up just a tad without making the picture look like it was taken with an on-camera flash.
Speaking of Bradley, he won the Memorial Day poster contest for the 7th grade! Yay Bradley!All of the winning posters are displayed in the window of the Metuchen Savings Bank downtown. Bradley’s is a detailed split screen drawing, war on one side, Arlington Cemetery on the other.It says, “From war… to memory. But something never fades.” (His poster is hard to see in the window because it doesn’t quite fit the window opening.)I’m so proud of him!
Bradley’s friend, Gabriel Francobandiero, won the contest for the 6th grade. Gabe’s was chosen as the overall winner! Congratulations, Gabe! His design will be used on the cover of the Memorial Day Ceremony program.If you’d like to come to Metuchen on Monday for the parade, here’s some details:The parade starts at 10 a.m., rain or shine, at the Pearl Street parking lot. It travels north to Middlesex Ave, then turns right on Main Street, right on High Street, and right on Lake Avenue. The parade ends at Memorial Park, and will be followed by a brief ceremony.By the way, I fully recommend Memorial Day events in Metuchen. It is a highlight on our calendar, and puts us on the worldwide map as a small town that won’t forget the sacrifices that give us so many freedoms.
We love downtown Metuchen! There are so many fun things to do. What’s the Scoop is our favorite place for ice cream.
Variety Village is our favorite place for just about everything else! In case you haven’t heard, there’s going to be a new owner soon.I was in the store today and Tommy (the owner, always smiling, above) was telling me about the expected changes. Tommy, I know for a fact that my kids will never forget the joy of walking downtown to go to Variety Village. It’s so sad that you’re leaving, but I wish you well on your new adventures, whatever they may be.
Back at the Shaver yard, here’s another “mamarazzi” picture. I love it, fill-flash and all!
Speaking of fill-flash, this picture simply would not have worked without it. When you’re working with children, you have to be prepared for anything! And believe me, they don’t give you very many second chances if you miss the shot the first time. (Well, at least my kids don’t.)
Gregory took this picture! Didn’t he do a great job? This one is a prime example of a picture taken at the worst time of day — high noon in full sun with half the subject’s face in shadow. Yuck! But, thanks to Gregory’s subtle flash, the picture isn’t a total loss. I get precious few with me in them, and even fewer with Bradley actually smiling! Thanks, Gregory!
See ya’ll at the parade on Monday!
Peace,
~jules
P.S. The fun day you see in my family Memorial Day weekend slide show was created entirely on foot. I did not spend a dime on gas or get inside a car except to look for my missing flash.
I LOVE LIVING IN METUCHEN!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:01 am
That’s the plane my mom is on! She’s probably behind the 6th or 7th window waving at me! Hi mom!
You can see New York City in the background of the above picture. The pointy building is the Empire State Building. Cool shot, huh?
I took the picture from the gate area at Newark Airport. I still can’t believe they let me past security without a ticket, and with a huge camera around my neck too!
How did I swing this amazing access? Not quite sure. All it took was a driver’s license and a sad story about my mom needing help getting situated on the plane. In all fairness though, the lead flight attendant was not too happy about me showing up at the plane door without a boarding pass. I still can’t believe I got that far. Kinda scary, but at the same time, I’m grateful that my mom didn’t have to carry anything heavy through the airport.
HI MOM!
That’s her plane way off in the distance. Can you see it?
I took a bunch of pictures yesterday and today of Granny with her grandsons, Gregory and Bradley. I was trying to make this one look really old, like an old picture I remember of my mom when she was about 5 standing in front of her house in South Carolina barefoot. (I thought I’d play around with Photoshop.)
I love this one. (Super-saturated black and white.)
Here’s one that is pretty much straight out of the camera, except I took the saturation down a little bit.
Hey Granny, since I know you’re reading this at Uncle James’ house, I thought I’d send you a picture of Wayward Karl.
I have been blog-absent for a while, so ya’ll missed the whole story about the Kaptain being missing for 2 days. Notice the bandana around is neck? That’s from the groomer after his — (fun fun in cat land) — bath.
So, Mom, let me know which pictures of you and the boys you like best and I’ll send you some prints. Cool?
Here’s another one. It is not easy getting Gregory and Bradley both smiling in the same picture. Ok, make that SORT OF smiling.
Suh-WEET!
Part of the point of these pictures is to show my brothers how tall Bradley has gotten, and the fact the Gregory is almost as tall as Granny! He’s only 7 years old!
Bradley is 13 and still growing.
Awww.
For all my tree fans who might be reading this, that’s our Greenspire Linden tree in the background. Notice that the flowers are already out!
I like the black and white one.
Thanks for coming to visit, mom! Call me when your plane lands! Oh, here’s a link to that slide show I was telling you about. Ask Uncle James to turn up the sound for you, then click here.
Love you!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:10 pm
My mom is here from Charleston for a while. Gregory loves having Granny here!
Bradley does too, but he’s at a youth retreat with our church, so it’s just Gregory and Granny.
Hanging out on the couch…
…watching TV together.
I love it. After a while of me taking pictures of them, they forgot all about me.
Therefore, VOILA! The couch potato shot!
“Aw mom. Why do you have to embarrass me like that?”
That is not a real direct quote. The real direct quote goes like this: “Mom! Take a picture of me now! Wait. Wait. Ok, now try this one!”
I love this picture of my mom! Mom, you’re the best! Thanks for letting me fool around with my camera on a rainy yucky day in the messy living room.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:28 am
My sneak peak at the concert tonight…
I went to the concert this morning for the school.
The orchestra was really good.
The violin solo made me cry, it was so beautiful.
Bradley is on the back row.
There he is! The chorus sounded so good!
They all look so nice in ties.
The 7th grade band sounded really great too. I was so impressed!
(Audience participation during the William Tell Overture.)
She was very patient and especially appreciated the upbeat pieces.
So did she.
Do good tonight, everybody! You sounded great this morning! Now I’m going to take a really long nap because I have a terrible cold. Cough. Cough.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:27 pm
I took these pictures last November on leaf-raking day.
Congratulations to michelle, Steve G. and Dawn!
Each posted a comment in almost every card design in the STIFF COMPETITION for a free family session.
I went through and re-checked all the posts and found that Steve G. missed one, michelle missed one, and Dawn missed one. It was a very hard contest, I admit! Thank you all SO much for playing!
To show my appreciation to you for keeping that eagle eye on my blog, each of you may take 30 percent off the creation fee of your next family session! All you have to do to redeem this little “coupon” is reference me back to this blog post when it comes time for you to book your session. Just click the title of the post, then copy and paste the url of the blog post into your email message to me at the time of your booking. The coupon never expires!
So, this post is for bob and Stacey — the two remaining contenders in the competition for a free family session. CONGRATULATIONS, BOB AND STACEY! YOU ARE FINALISTS!
Bob and Stacey posted comments in every one of my card designs! WOW!!!!!
Thank you to ALL my readers for checking out my blog and helping me boost my google rankings!
Every time you visit my blog, google counts you as “traffic” to my site, and the more traffic a site gets, the more popular google thinks it is! Plus, every time a reader posts a comment, my site gets “updated” with fresh content in google’s eyes. This is another factor that keeps my site high in the rankings. Thank you to ALL my blog readers who give me lots of traffic and post comments! You’re the BEST!!!
So, on with the show, er, uh, the contest…
Bob and Stacey…
…to win the free family session, you must follow the directions EXACTLY.
1. Your response must be correct, as judged by me. If neither responds correctly, the one with the CLOSEST answers wins.
2. You must EMAIL your responses to me in the form of questions, like on Jeopardy, before midnight, May 8. My email address is shown on the blog, and within my main web site.
Here are the Jeopardy-style answers, both with visual hints within this blog post:
A) A non-growing item of special significance in the Tree Grower’s Diary.
B) The number of leaf bags Bradley, Gregory and Gabe accumulated on November 26, 2007.
Good luck, and there is no guarantee that ALL the leaf bags are shown in the picture!
One more thing: A very special thanks to Brad, Gabe and Greg for all that raking! You guys are the BEST!!!!!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:47 pm
