“But kids don't stay with you if you do it right. It's the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won't be needed in the long run.”
― Barbara Kingsolver
This quote always gives me pause.
As much as I dream of a day with uninterrupted bathroom breaks, a car without goldfish crackers in every nook & cranny, and a day free of screaming, bickering children, I also know that this time is fleeting.
Every mom with a young child has been told to "enjoy this time...they will be grown before you know it!", or some variation of that. I'm sure this is sage advice, but it can feel...overwhelming, condescending, scary. Pick an emotion...it can make you feel all the things!
I take a lot of photos of my kids. Obviously. But, since I'm the one taking those photos, I don't show up in too many of them.
Over the years, we've booked family photo sessions. We've also taken family photos by setting the camera on a tripod & setting the timer. They were always fine & marked the moment in time, but I wanted something more.
Last year, I gifted myself a motherhood photo session. It was me & my boys. The images are beautiful & I could not love them more.
You know what else? I was not feeling particularly beautiful. I still "needed" to lose weight. My busy schedule made it tricky to find a time. My boys wouldn't "cooperate".
I could find a million reasons why I needed to postpone the session. But, I didn't.
I got my uncooperative boys to wear jeans (gasp!), put on clean shirts, brush their hair, and we drove an hour and half (in the pouring rain) to our session. We were late (of course). I was nervous and flustered. But, we did it. We survived! And now...I have the most beautiful images to document that moment in time.
Even though it was only a year ago, I look at the images & my boys look so much younger. Oliver still had his baby teeth (I know...he didn't start losing teeth until the end of 2nd grade). Milo still wanted to cuddle with me in front of strangers.
Most importantly, I'm in the frame. They will have proof of my existence.
Have you been putting it off? Forget about all the reasons why you can't. Do it for your kids. Do it for yourself. You won't be sorry.
