“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive:
for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts;
and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been,
is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life,
and rest in unvisited tombs.”
– George Eliot, Middlemarch
Heather Robinson
Amanda Voelker
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 blog | Facebook
i am a cryer. always have been. i cry when i am sad, scared, lonely, frustrated, angry, or hurt. i also cry when i am happy, surprised, inspired, proud, safe, moved by beauty. i cry when i see others crying or hurting. i cry when i think about the past. i cry when i think about the future. i cried on this day, my 38th birthday. thinking back i have cried on every birthday since the day i was born. i cried when i woke early, opened the curtains, and saw the sun rising over the ocean. it was cloudy. the palm trees were whipping in the wind. it was beautiful. i cried because i felt awe and gratitude to be alive. i cried because i thought about all that i had experienced during the last year and all that was a head of me in this new year of my life. later that day as we all walked on the beach searching for feathers, shells, and sand to bring home with us, i cried once more. i was so moved by my children. i watched with wonder the way they played. how they felt the wind in their hair and the sand between their toes. the way they chased the birds. the way their little eyes looked at the big, powerful ocean. they fill me with so much joy, i don’t know how to hold it all inside. so i cry.
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive:
for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts;
and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been,
is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life,
and rest in unvisited tombs.”
– George Eliot, Middlemarch
Heather Robinson
Amanda Voelker
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive:
for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts;
and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been,
is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life,
and rest in unvisited tombs.”
– George Eliot, Middlemarch
Heather Robinson
Amanda Voelker
