Lilli Jolgren Day | Photographer | Author | Artist

I was told the home page on your website should tell people who you are and what you do. So who am I? I am a mother, a wife, a grandmother, a sister, a daughter, a friend. I am someone who has lived with invisible chronic illness most of my adult life so I am also someone who doesn't lead a very big life. I don't travel the world. I'm not famous. I didn't graduate from an Ivy League college, I don’t have a million followers on Instagram, and I’ve never climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. I admire people who do lead big lives though. People who are blessed with stamina and good health, who go out into the world and leave their mark and make big dreams come true. But I also understand that the value of a human life has nothing to do with fame or money, how many degrees you hold, or how many stamps you have on your passport. And I know that we each in our own way have mountains to conquer.

I have always felt most like myself when I was creating something. A painting, a quilt, a garden full of flowers, a doodle on the side of my algebra paper (I did not like algebra and no, I never found a use for it as an adult!). I also like to write, to play with words, to discover them one by one and lay them down so they reveal an imagined place and time, a feeling, a portrait in verse. But I especially like taking photographs and creating images in Photoshop. Bringing ideas to life in visual portraits of light and shadow and color.

So that is who I am. That is what I do. I live in the beautiful state of Michigan where I write a little. I take pictures. I look for beauty and grace and hope in the quiet glimmers of a worthy life - the smell of fresh brewed coffee in the morning, the curling edges of a dry November leaf, encouraging words from a doctor, lunch with friends, the slant of golden sunlight across my living room floor, that moment a newborn baby first makes eye contact, my husband's goodnight kiss, finding just the right pair of colorful socks to match my sweater, that unexpected random act of kindness from a stranger, an "I love you" from a grandchild. Magic is everywhere. I may not lead a big life but I live a good life. A grateful life.