Still life with morning sunlight and wilted tulips on my grandmas kitchen table.  The eastern light that warms and fills this tiny kitchen is for me a sense-memory. It is joined with the smell of burning flour from tortillas cooking on the gas stove and the cacophony of birds in the mesquite trees outside.  It’s a quiet calm in the chaos and confusion of life.  In just this moment it feels like there is stillness in the world.

Life is too busy most of the time.  It’s easy to put off spending time with loved ones until there is a more convenient time.  But really, there isn’t a more convenient time and the time is now.  It’s important to spend time with our elders, ask them questions and listen to their stories.

A photograph of wilting punk and purple tulips with dramatic light and a black background And a blue ceramic bowl with yellow grapefruit
'Still life with morning sunlight and wilted tulips on my grandmas kitchen table' by Jeannie Ortiz
A photograph of wilting punk and purple tulips with dramatic light and a black background
'Still life with morning sunlight and wilted tulips on my grandmas kitchen table' by Jeannie Ortiz
A photograph of wilting punk and purple tulips with dramatic light and a black background
'Still life with morning sunlight and wilted tulips on my grandmas kitchen table' by Jeannie Ortiz
A photograph of wilting punk and purple tulips with dramatic light and a black background
'Still life with morning sunlight and wilted tulips on my grandmas kitchen table' by Jeannie Ortiz
A photograph of wilting punk and purple tulips with dramatic light and a black background
'Still life with morning sunlight and wilted tulips on my grandmas kitchen table' by Jeannie Ortiz