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
photo by Heather Robinson Photography
Today at the roller rink I watched you cling to the walls for your first few loops, but when I skated out to see if you wanted my help, you said no. Not much later I found you in the middle of the rink, skating along without hanging on. I fought all my urges to go help you, and any time I did reach out to hold your hand, you pushed me away. I can’t help but always think of you as my baby. Today, I felt such a mix of pride and heartache at your independence and strength. And I was happy to go home with you at the end, when you were clearly so tired and ready to just be mine again.
photo by Olivia Gatti of Click Click Love