Mother's Day

Mother's Day is on the horizon

I find this holiday a bittersweet one for me. On the one hand, I love celebrating with my son and husband. I always get breakfast in bed (I'm hoping for chocolate chip waffles with strawberries this year....hint, hint!), beautiful flowers, wonderful cards with heartfelt messages and usually, some much needed and appreciated mommy quiet time! It is always a fun day, filled with love and happiness, and hugs and kisses (always the best part about being a mom!)

But on the other hand....I find myself spending a lot of time thinking about my own mom on this day. Unfortunately, my mom is no longer with us. She lost her long struggle with cancer a few months after my son was born.

As I have traveled my journey through this adventure called motherhood, I find myself understanding more about my mother now, than I ever did while she was here. There are stories and moments I wish I could share with her. There are times, even now, 5 years later, where I find myself thinking...."Oh...I should call mom and tell her this. It will really make her laugh." Most often, I wish I could call her and say...."I totally get it now mom" and, of course, "I love you mom".

Recently, I have been thinking about my portrait sessions and what are some of the moments I enjoy most. And I have found that, consistently, it is what I like to call my "Mommy Love" images. During each session, I ask to photograph mom with each child individually. But what I like to do is to try to capture that feeling that a mother and child have for each other. I feel these images are timeless and priceless. My goal is to create an heirloom for a family that will reflect the love that passes between mother and child and that can be enjoyed for years and generations to come.

As I have spent time reminiscing about my own mother, I realized that I have no photographs of my mother and I together (except for one from my wedding day). Ironic, isn't it. That I am a professional photographer and yet I have no images documenting the relationship between my mother and I. And, of course I realize that, probably, I am so focused on those relationship images for that very reason.

Mother's Day is such a special day. A day for celebration, appreciation, reflection. It is a day that should be filled with the overwhelming love we have for our children and to be thankful for every day we have with them and with our own mothers.

The images I chose to post today are some of my all-time favorite "Mommy Love" images. I hope you enjoy them.

The Smile of a Child

The smile of a child can alter the course of your day. The day of this session started out as a very challenging one on the personal side ...but once we got going in our "Look Ma...No Teeth" mini-session, the laughs and giggles helped to alter my perspective on the day. And how could it not. To try to coax the laughs and smiles, I have to use all sorts of humor....sometimes the boy humor, while it may be a bit coarse...makes me laugh the hardest. I'll leave to your imagination what we were laughing about...but his mom was laughing right along with us (I think..... I hope). Thanks for the smiles.

Little Baby......

As I get ready to plan my son's 6th birthday celebration, I find myself reminising about earlier days. Little baby hands, little baby feet, little baby lips.....need I say more.

They told me the time would pass so quickly. (Of course, like any mom, there were days when I didn't believe that this comment was based at all in reality). But here I am realizing that my days of snuggles and kisses goodbye and holding hands as we cross the street are coming to a close. Of course, it is a bittersweet realization.

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have stopped me to tell me how much you are enjoying my blog and the images I have been sharing with you. As an artist, when someone tells you that your work inspires them and brings them a certain pleasure... well, that is an inspiration in itself. Thank you.