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

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you were feverish so you took a nap in our bed.  he was trying desperately to catch up on some work.  none of this was all that extraordinary.  just some in between moments that would quickly fade from our memories.  yet these moments are the glue that holds us all together as we journey from one remarkable moment to the next.

photo by Heather Robinson     blog | Facebook

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Today, I took you to your first toddler class, a nature program at this beautiful little school on the river. You wanted nothing to do with it and kept to the stairs to play by yourself the entire time. It is the kind of place where that is totally okay, and I appreciate that they respect each child’s need. But I also can’t help but think you’ve gone a bit feral this winter, and I’m to blame. I holed us up in the house a lot and haven’t really socialized you much either. Partly, I just want to keep you mine for a little longer, and partly because you are the third child and I’m so damn tired most days.

photo by Olivia Gatti     website Facebook