Hala back, young'n...

 After a extremely long week in which my wife and I laid her beloved father to rest, I'm back to the blog... and while the mountain of work is now more daunting than ever... life must go on.

It's fitting then that my first entry back in the saddle is South Tama's Nate Hala.

It's come to my attention that Nate's mother, Karla, cared for my father-in-law during his last few weeks at home as part of her job as a nurse for Tama County.   We appreciate all the acts and words of kindness from Karla (and many, many others) as we've continued through this process, but now it's time for me to give back to the Halas.

I'm not so sure that Nate didn't come our way due to a simple act of kindness during track season.... to his kid sister, Kallie.

Kallie was a freshman on the STC Girls Track team and was going to miss the team photograph by a mere 30 minutes.   When it was brought to my attention, a little hustle... a little planning... a little photoshop... and BAM.   Kallie suddenly was IN the team picture.

Now maybe brother Nate was headed my way anyway... it's hard to say for sure.   But, I'm guessing the "no good deed goes unpunished" axiom was WRONG, just this once.

So, Mama Karla, Sister Kallie AND Senior Nate all made their appearance for the senior session, finally... and much to Karla's surprise... it seemed as if her son was actually ENJOYING himself.

Nate and I talked mostly Trojan athletics.  (I know... shocking).   With a new hoops coach in place, our senior swingman is looking forward to his last year of basketball with renewed vigor.

Anytime I get a senior guy in here that smiles readily and with ease... it feels like a blessing to be sure.  Sometimes it's angst.   Or maybe they had to get up too early in the summer for something they deemed unnecessary.  Or perhaps being held at gunpoint my their mother and being told that they HAVE to do this isn't exactly gonna elicit the genuine smile that we all hope for.   Regardless, Nate had a relaxed demeanor that brought out the pearly whites with little effort, and with maximum results.

Karla made sure to thank me for going above and beyond with Nate's session.  I assured her that it's just what we do here at Stewart Photography.   And even though the Halas (and about 13 other seniors that we have in the can as we speak) had to be patient longer than they normally would have... I hope I made it worth the wait.