Translation Factor

We have this thing around our house called the "Translation Factor". Actually JM has this thing that he calls the "Translation Factor". Let me describe it for you. It goes something like this. I ask JM if we can fly to Michigan for our anniversary vacation this year (there happens to be a photography workshop from my favorite photographer ever coming up soon), and basically he tells me, "Um, no." Ok there were more words to this sentence than what I'm giving here, but I'm trying to spare you the gory details. :) Anyway, this is where the "translation factor" comes in. I translate his words to, "no I don't care about your passion for photography, so no we aren't going". It is true that we are not going (I am truly distraught about this ;). However, I do know that he doesn't think my crazy love of photography is dumb either. Now just for the record, I'm not the only one guilty of the "translation factor". My kids do it all the time. For instance, one of them will run downstairs to tattle tell on the other. I will tell them to be nice and tell the others if they don't start playing nice I will be coming upstairs to talk to them. The next thing I hear is the one who came downstairs to tattle quickly running back up translating what I said into, "Mom says if you're not nice to me you have to spend the rest of the day on your bed and you won't be going with us later when we do something fun". Ok, once again truth be told it's usually a much worse translation than this, but again, I'm trying to spare you the gory details. :) Even JM can be guilty of this at times, although he won't admit it. I will say he uses the "translation factor" (as he has so appropriately named it), much less than the rest of us. I think I'm getting better at "translating" less often and we are working with Seej to kick the "translator" completely out of her head, but it can be difficult sometimes not to immediately interpret things. I wonder if others have the same "translation factor" going on at their house. I wonder if others have a JM in their home to say, "Nice translation factor" when they have a rebuttal to a comment they have incorrectly translated. I'm going to assume that they do. Otherwise we wouldn't be normal. Again. And I'm not sure how I would handle that translation. :)

As we continue working on shutting off the "translators" in our home, there is one place that I will hold onto it. My translator is a perfect companion for photography. I have truly been having fun translating a given theme into an image. Here are a couple from this past week.

This one is for Creative Mama's theme- "loving the little things". The image had to include something small that had meaning to me. I opened my daughter's jewelry box and was reminded of when she was a tiny dancer. This necklace was given to her at that special time in her life. For me, a perfect "translation" of the theme.

And this one? This one is for MCP Actions 52 week project. The theme for the week is "open your heart". When I saw this theme, the lyrics to Madonna's hit song immediately streamed through my head, and I knew this would become my interpretation. I guess in the end it's good that I have a constructive place to use my "translation factor". I will try to only use it when I have my camera in my hand from now on, and not when someone (particularly JM) is speaking to me. :)