A Normal Day
On October 18th, my daughter was born and I became the mother of three children. Hundreds of miles away, on the same day, another baby girl was born and another woman added the third child to her family. We were complete strangers at that time, but our love of photography and family brought us together. We started to have a conversation about motherhood with images, because we tell stories with our cameras. Since some tales are so similar, and some are not, we decided to collaborate and share a photo a week from a normal day as a mother to three.
“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”
― Mary Jean Irion
i am not sure how much your brother and especially your sister understand what is going on. but you do. i know it gets easier for you each time but that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. knowing that one more person is going to be vying for your mama’s attention is rough. the day after i told you, you started a “no mama” club. it hurt to hear you parading around chanting, “no mama! no mama!” but i stayed quiet and gave you the space to feel what you needed to feel. and then one day you told me you had closed the club. you said, “mama, i might even love this baby.” i took you in my arms and hugged you. i already knew this about you but that knowledge didn’t lessen the feelings of relief, pride, and comfort that your voice gave to me.
Photo by Heather Robinson Photography