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 recently read a Huffington Post article about how having three children is the most stressful number for moms. The article made sense to me. It really is a juggling act. If only I had three hands (or even better four!). I was afraid that adding our third child to the mix would always mean that I would be leaving someone out. And on top of this, I worried that my older two would resent the baby. It turns out that parenting three is very stressful. But, I am not so sure if it is any more stressful than two. So far, I am not seeing any signs of resentment. Rather, they adore their baby sister immensely. So, instead of having only two hands, I now have four little hands reaching out to help.
photo by Heather Robinson
Some of my earliest memories involve my dad and his guitar. My love of music clearly comes from growing up in a house full of albums, college radio, and homemade jam sessions. It is so new to you to hear these sounds, but to me, it is so familiar. And it is so good.
photo by Olivia Gatti of Click Click Love