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
Being a working-stay-at-home-mom often feels like one is never always there, or doing exactly what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Instead, things might overlap or get overlooked or be overdone. And with that comes this sense of guilt but sometimes ecstasy, that you are doing exactly what you want to be doing with your life and no one ever said that was going to be easy. But satisfying. Yes, I have been told that and both are right.
Photo by Olivia Gatti
you didn’t want her help. she was causing you pain with each stroke. but you let her brush your hair anyway. you did it because you saw how happy it made her feel. how important she felt. there are so many things that i want you to learn. empathy is at the top of the list.
Photo by Heather Robinson Photography