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 have suffered from seasonal affective disorder all my adult life, each year getting worse and worse. But this year, with some wonderful guidance and deep, dark soul and energy work, I finally cracked the sadness. In fact, I came to find the sadness beautiful when it came around, but more so, I found ways to feel more excited, hopeful, and inspired. No more dealing with it, counting the days. I became ever -present in the weather, the cold, the dark. And the biggest secret: I started to look to the skies. I started following the lunar cycles and celebrating them with small rituals. I stand beneath the stars and ponder the space between them. We skate on frozen streams. And I share this all with you. You see, it is all inside you. Every. Single. Thing. And if you simply sit with that knowledge, you can start to find peace and freedom. My sweet child, this is it. It is beautiful.