Sometimes I forget how far I’ve come. It can take a poignant question or the keen interest of someone else to get me to retrace my steps and remember all the twists and turns of my past which got me here. Although my journey is etched in my mind—important players met along the way, stepping stones laid out before me, cross-roads, turning points, signs, red lights, and greens ones—it takes a little reflecting in the rear view mirror to appreciate what came before, which makes what lies ahead all the sweeter.
I moved from student, to photographer, to wife & mother, to photographer, to author, to photographer, to blogger, to photographer, and so it goes. I feel that with each of my milestones the photographer part of myself shifted and changed; my lens drawn toward a subject matter I could relate to or something that I needed to connect with. Self-portraits in college, weddings & babies as I entered that sacred place in my own life, robust, stretched bellies as I wrote my pregnancy journal and of course my own children because there is simply no muse like real life.
I have always let my whims guide me in my work because when I wouldn’t, my passion would dwindle. I reached places along my path where I thought surely this is the best it gets, enjoying what I was doing so wholeheartedly. But, I was wrong. It keeps getting better.
I’ve begun my 40s and my kids are in school full time now, grown up and out of all the baby bits and pieces I was so drawn to when they were young. The tiny hands, the chubby cheeks, the wispy peach fuzz hair, the creases and curves that only babies and toddlers have. I miss them all. But I also have followed my heart and let my lens begin to open another new world to me.
If someone would have told me what I know today, I’m not sure I would have believed them. That the dew of morning could be magic. That a brand new bud, longing to bloom could cause for celebration. That a cup of tea could whisper an enchanting tale. That what was on my cutting board could bring me back to center. That a dandelion could restore my hope. It’s as though the entire world around me has woken up as have I, as I look both inside myself and out and feel as if every blade of grass, every shard of light is a brand new muse.
It is all of these things that prompted me to create Picture Spring; my new e-class held at Big Picture Scrapbooking. A 30 day soulful seasonal celebration of these muses and using our cameras to seek them out. For all the details on registration on how you can awaken your senses and your lens this spring, visit me over there. I’m giddy with what we’ll discover together.
Readers of The Creative Mama get $5 off their registration fee for Picture Spring by using the promo code springsoul at check out. See you there!
