The Gay Girls Get Jiggy With It*

Have y'all noticed my new banner? Like many of the best pictures on my site, Jenny did it.

For the first two days that it was up, I came here several times a day just to stare at it. If you're only seeing this on a Reader, you should click over and check it out. I think it's fantastic. But I may be biased.

So, here's the thing about mine and Jenny's relationship. I'm the big sister. And (at least when we were kids) I got to try most things out first. I did an OK job at those things. Then Jenny would come along and try the same things too. When *she* tried it, she always surpassed what I had done. (examples of this include... soccer, grades, parenting) The important point I'm trying to emphasize about this is the fact that I've always been incredibly proud of her when she's done this. I was never jealous.

Now that we're older, it isn't so much a matter of following each other linearly. We do a lot of things together, as we have similar interests and values, but each of us definitely has our strengths and our weaknesses. The best part is that we work really well together. I am good at coming up with ideas and usually good at figuring out how to make those ideas into reality. She's great at planning and following through. I like to think of new ways of doing things and she knows (or is willing to learn) the *best* way to do it. She is a bit of a perfectionist (which helps keep the standards high). Me, not as much (which means that I'm relaxed enough to let go of my attachment to the picture in my head and allow things be what they are).

I am more right brained than her (60%, according to this site), which is the fluid, messy, creative side and she is more left brained than me, which is the linear, logical, attention to detail side. When I asked her to take this test, she was honest enough to inform me that she was going to attempt to get 50:50. Which tells you a lot about her.

I started thinking along these lines after I got an email from a high school friend. Hi Defne! (Well, she's not in high school anymore, but we were friends in high school. Was that already obvious to everyone else? Anyway.) She wrote to tell me how much she loved reading my blog, that it makes her smile and cry and she's been inspired as a new mom. (She has a 3 and a half month old). Then she wrote "Tell Jenny that she’s an amazing photographer. I tried to guess which images were hers before I looked at the credit that you gave, and I could usually tell which ones were hers. They are the extra good ones." Now here's the thing, my first reaction to this was to be thrilled for Jenny. It wasn't until later that I realized how some people would totally take that genuine and honest complement the wrong way and feel like their own photos weren't good enough. I happen to agree with Defne (I mean, really, these are fantastic), so I happily forwarded the email to Jenny. I also took that as a personal complement for being smart enough to put her pictures up here. (But, honestly, I try to take most things as personal complements.)

The thing is, when I have something important that needs to be artistically photographed, I call in Jenny. She'll take dozens of pictures and keep taking them until she has the one that she wants, while I'll only be willing to take 4 or 5 before I'm bored (or more likely impatient) and ready to move on to something else. Both approaches have their value. She takes beautiful pictures. And I would never get anything posted if I was as obsessive about photos as Jenny is. And sometimes I have to push her to post something to Flickr even though it isn't 100% exactly how she wants it, because honestly, it could take weeks for her to get it where she wants it.

This is fairly typical of us, but isn't always the case. I think that we both are capable of easily crossing to the other side of the brain when necessary. After all, according to that incredibly scientific internet quiz, I am 40% left brained.

Recently, Jenny quit her job. Mostly, she did it because the place she worked was crushing her soul (my words, not hers). She also did it so that she could devote some time to helping me with the retail side of Wisdom of the Moon, which is a fairly relaxed and groovy place to work, considering it has free child care (Joey) and margaritas (not that we drink them, but just knowing we could is a nice perk) and we can work just about anywhere (like the backyard or park) while the kids play.








*Taken from Linda's suggestion on the henna post. It makes me laugh, which just proves what a geek I am. Thanks, Linda!

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