Beckett Gladney On Life, Parenthood & Mortality

My friend Beckett has a new blog. Even if you don't know Beckett personally, I highly recommend it. Why? Because Beckett writes SO well, take such gorgeous photos, is an amazing illustrator. She's a cancer survivor. She is the mother of very active twin boys. She's creative in so many different ways.

Being on opposite sides of the continent, Beckett and I don't get to see each other that often. It was a joy to be able to spend some time with her recently, though it wasn't nearly long enough.

During one of our conversations, we talked about death. It may seem like a morbid subject for some, making them uncomfortable. When you've had a close encounter, either through loss of a loved one (both of us) or a life-threatening illness (Beckett), it's not as much of a taboo topic. Or at least it's not for Beckett and me. An excerpt from her blog post:

It's not as simple as a 'bucket list', it's about making choices all the way along about how you want to live and the attitudes you choose to live by and what you see and smell and listen to and savor in your life. It's about trying the best you're capable of to find the best path through the hard places, to live a positive, loving and meaningful life on your own terms without worrying about what society thinks. It's also about how you approach dealing with losing your loved ones or your own loss of health or eventual demise. It's such hard stuff and not something people want to think or talk about and yet everyone eventually goes through it.

Read more at her blog:

ARTBECO

"Seeking beauty in the midst of busy days as an artist, photographer, craftsperson and parent of twin boys"