She apologized for not having it all together, for changing our plans because things got a little hectic. We had plans to do an outdoor shoot that I believe she spent a few weeks planning [outfit wise]. I’m sure it was going to be perfect…but then, at the end decided on something “small,” “just at home.” And to me…this was PERFECT.
I showed up to their home-I’d been there before since she so generously allowed me to use her kitchen for another session I’d done in the winter. Her house smelled like some kind of cleaning liquid-it smelled so good. I couldn’t quite comprehend how both times that I was in her home she managed to keep the home so well put together after just having her second child. She mentioned to me the need to feel like her home was clean.
I did this shoot and it hit home. So much of it. The look on her face of a woman who is trying to keep it all together you know. Her house, her marriage, her children, her sanity. All of it. It hit home for me. The way she tenderly held her baby girl with the greatest delight in her heart. There was a little sadness-but I know this sadness. It’s called breastfeeding and no sleep. It’s called being up at crazy hours and feeling a little distant from your husband and a little distant from your other child. Then there’s mommy guilt for being everything for the one child that needs you the most at the time and shifting your oldest child into another level of maturity that you aren’t quite sure that he’s ready for. It hit home. When I photographed her and her son…the way she squeezed him a little tighter, because she missed being all his. She missed his snuggles at any hour of any day.
It hit home….the way she looked at her husband in the eyes. The way she craved his hugs and glares. The way she wanted to feel like they felt on good days when they weren’t so tired. And the way those couple minutes alone were enough to remind them that they are good and that life was well and that this little season would soon pass and they would again find a new rhythm. The best rhythm their family has every dance to the beat of.
It hit home.
