WHAT? - Day 2

Mommy broke it? What? It is a fact, ask anyone who knows me, that I have a need to replace technology often. But all technology aside, this started with my camera.

My beloved camera. I am a picture taking fool and the digital age is good for me because I don't have to print everything to see my handy work and there is NO limit!! I have taken pictures of myself doing the silliest things, I've snapped groovy shots of those I love, I've secretly captured those around me because they were interesting. I have pictures of people, dogs, cats, buildings, cars, places ... but who doesn't?

My super CANON powershot SD880 IS digital elph was my best friend! It was everywhere I was. In my pocket, my purse, my coat, the car... always by my side to help me remember the best and worst of times. I would never have bought this camera for myself because it was out of my price range. However while attending a conference in November 2008 with my then employee & now friend, Sarah, I happened to be lucky enough to WIN the camera! And for a few months, it stayed in the box as I had a camera that was working.

When a freak accident destroyed that little camera, I started to use the CANON. And ooohhhh I liked it! Small & sleek... 10 mega pixels 4x zoom... oooohhh it was good for me. And we started our travels & adventures! The camera traveled to the snowy tops of Colorado to ski in my jacket down black diamond slopes with my exchange son Martin. It went to Hockey games with the men in my life. Flower shows, beaches, trips to the ranch in Oklahoma, the birth of my son, my latest excursion to Norway... my little CANON captured it all for me.

There was abuse though.... and now you know. I am the abuser of technology... I drop things, crush them, loose them... and the CANON was no luckier even though I loved it. There was a water mishap with a toliet, drops to numerous to mention and yet it kept working without a problem.

Then it started to smoke. Each time I used the flash, it smoked to my initial delight and to the curious delight of those around me! But still it worked! The camera was tough!

Some 4 months ago, I had it in my purse on the way to Melody Mart and by the time I arrived there, it was gone. I searched high & low for it & couldn't find it. The husband found it! In the driveway.... my CANON had fallen out of my purse onto the gravel drive & i had RUN IT OVER... and you guessed it... it still worked. The smoke problem got a bit worse and sometimes if you held your finger over the flash area, you would get a little shock, but the photos were great! And the adventures continued with my camera until 2 weeks ago....

On a trip to Omaha for grandma's 100th birthday the poor camera was sluggish but I didn't worry.... I was letting the baby hold it & there was an excess amount of drool. The smoke was bad and started smelling so that people around me noticed. And the final drop happened on a normal floor and then NOTHING... no lights, no movement... it was dead. I had finally broken it.

And I cried. It is the loss of a beautiful piece of technology. Strong enough to withstand "normal" daily life with me. And it is no longer available. It is the absence of a dear friend. There are empty days now without a picture. It is like there will be no memory of those days... no snapshot of how I looked, how the baby looked... like it never happened. I asked myself "where is my camera?" and remembered it was gone... that CANON was the best piece of equipment.