Light by Iris is an incredible artist. We were honored to have her capture our family a few weeks ago. This is our third time with her and we are always in awe of her work. I’m sharing a few of her beautiful creations today. It was hard to pick just a few, so thank you for humoring me.
I always say that this time of year is crazier than Christmas, but this year, it feels especially so with a senior. And wasn’t it just Christmas, but suddenly, it’s May? There are parties to plan and attend, boxes to check, activities, meetings, appointments, errands, and… that’s not even counting running a full-time business that consumes almost everything. Small business owners unite because I know you get it; it’s not for those with, how shall I say it? Sensitive proclivities.
It doesn’t feel like we’ve enjoyed any restful weekends lately because there is so much to do. I try to remind myself that this is just a season.
But I blinked, and here we are. He graduates in three weeks. Three weeks.
Wasn’t he just starting kindergarten?
I’m always eager to rush through these last few weeks of school so we can slide right into summer and finally rest.
But this year, I know I should be soaking it all up.
The scrambled Monday mornings, the last-minute school projects, the stressful studying, and talking them off the cliff after said stressful studying. The packed lunches, plans, and, well, more appointments. The swinging door that is our house in the warmer months. Is it just me, or do teenagers really like to process deep thoughts at about ten o’clock? We wait around for them to open up, and then BAM, it’s an existential crisis one hour past my bedtime. I’m just trying my very best not to nod right off on top of my strategically placed heating pad… And wasn’t I just in college?
When you’re young, you think you’re invincible. Then suddenly, you’re not so young anymore. There is something so daunting about having your oldest leave the nest to stand where you just stood. We have so many wishes, hopes, and dreams that we’ve poured into our children who can’t stay little forever. We know it’s time.
We just hope we’ve taught them enough to fly on their own.
Since Jamin and I began our lives together and then became a family of five, I’ve known one thing: Life happens so quickly. It’s like a whirl of color and blur; within it are these tiny moments of our lives. They feel like three seconds each at best if you were to place them on a timeline of human life. We try to hang on to them in snippets of memories and grasp at the present. Like running through a field of wildflowers, trying to pick as many as possible without stopping.
So, amidst the chaos and the planning and all the things we had to do, I added a little more to that chaos because I knew we’d regret not capturing these moments if we didn’t.
Family photos are a lot. Iris truly makes her brilliant process simple, but there’s always the family’s end to uphold. {I mean, we can’t very well show up looking like we feel: herded cats, bedraggled and burned out, amirite?} There’s the booking, the outfit planning, the hair strategy, and the making sure everyone has a belt that fits whilst steaming dresses, all while trying to get out of the door. Someone inevitably can’t find a shoe, and then everyone’s mad because “I’m making them do this.” If we’re lucky, the sun might actually shine because that would also be nice. Chaos. Keeping it real.
It’s been a cold, rainy spring in Nashville. By the time we finished shooting, we could barely move our fingers. But we really had fun. We laughed. We shivered. Iris has now photographed our family three times, and she does an incredible job each session. She’s amazingly patient, capturing us right where we are.
These images… They’re priceless to me.
When we were leaving in the car, satisfied and warm, Jamin said, “Tomorrow marks eight years since we moved here.”
A moment in the blur.
It just felt appropriate, if not poignant, to capture that day because we had no idea. The entire process kind of feels like one big metaphor for life right now. When we moved here, they were still so little. Things were so fresh. We’ve experienced and grown so much. But it really went by so very fast. And now we have one ready to leave the nest.
We’re in this incredibly busy season of filling in schedules and planning. Checking off those boxes and doing all the things. I’m worried about a million little elements, sometimes feeling quite lost because of forests and trees. I’m really just doing my best, hoping something is right.
Then, something happens to make us pause. I’m reminded to take a step back and realize how beautiful all these seemingly little things, really are.
Life might not be exactly how we saw it when we were young, brazen, and ready to graduate with our own futures opening before us. But I would trade nothing. Because it’s absolutely brilliant, in all of those tiny nuances we never really expect. I would do it all over again.
We need to enjoy the bustle of life while we have it. Even the stress, chaos, and imperfections are beautiful when you take a step back.
So, I’ll embrace these next few weeks with the scrambles, deadlines, and obligations and try to soak them up in the meantime.
This is it—a moment in the blur.
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