My sweet cousin and her awesome husband experienced a devastating loss last week. Their vibrant, healthy little boy was gone in an instant. I am so glad that I flew down to take his newborn pictures. He was a beautiful newborn and they just radiated with love and excitement for their new son. I am so grateful that they indulged me as I was building my portfolio. We always just assume that we will have a tomorrow with our loved ones, but there is no guarantee. It is so hard to realize that the ones you love could be gone in an instant.
I am a photographer. I was a photographer long before I ever tried to do it as a profession. My language is photographs. Anyone who knows me personally knows that my husband and I lost our son 5 years ago. I have tons of photos of my son and now that it is all I have, they are some of my precious items. But even if you don't lose your child, and I pray that none of you ever experience that, they grow up so fast. My precious three year old that used to dress up like a princess to dig up and collect worms, the beautiful little girl that had ringlets down her back, is now fourteen. She is still beautiful and I still get to see her every day, but that three year old is long gone and sometimes I miss her.
Take pictures. Take lots and lots of pictures. Take them with your phone or have them professionally taken... It doesn't really matter. Print some off from time to time. Don't let them all live lost inside of a computer. I haven't found any better way to hang onto the past other than with photos... but then again that is who I am.
