The art of motherhood
Dear Mama, the Mess Can Wait
There’s one thing I know to be true of every mother I’ve ever known: motherhood changes you.
Motherhood transforms you in the deepest and best ways.
But somewhere in the middle of that transformation, there’s a tension we don’t always talk about. A pull between what needs to get done and what we don’t want to miss. Between the noise of responsibility and the sweet moments that are gone almost as soon as they arrive.
And if we’re not careful, we can spend so much time keeping up with life that we miss the very life we longed for.
then
now
I love talking to my friend Beth about motherhood. There are things she's said to me that have forever stuck with me. And there are times that I wish I could record our conversations so that I can listen to them again to refresh my perspective later on. So I asked her to write for me what she would want to tell a mama who is in the little years, here's what she said...
“I tend to focus on to-do’s and see the undone. Crumbs on the floor, dishes in the sink, toys… everywhere. I sometimes find it hard to slow down and focus until all those things are “done”. My kids might be calling for me to come see what they made or play with them, and it’s a learning curve to know when to pause my agenda and enter their moment.
When I look back, I see kitchen dance parties with diapered toddlers, sitting on the front porch with a popsicle as big as their face dripping down their hands, or high-pitched squeals of excitement over seeing a squirrel in the backyard. Dear mama, if we’re not careful these beautiful, frozen-in-time moments pass us by. So save the dishes for later, look past the crumbs, and go enter the moment that is only right now.”
Beth Kocher
And she's so right. There seems to be a to do list that never stops growing and the days are long and exhausting. But, what is also true is that the days are filled with so much joy. The giggles, the toys everywhere, the overturned couch cushions, the mess - all of it is beautiful evidence that childhood is here. And I don't want to forget to enjoy it!
This is just a little sliver of why I am passionate about freezing moments in time, for my family and for yours. Your family photos are precious preservations of the seasons of your life, with all the challenges and all the joys that you remember when you're looking back.
This is why I want to capture the magic of the season of life your family is in with imagery you can feel.
Columbus Ohio Family Photographer | Westerville Family Photography