three.
she's three now.
it's been forever since i last posted.
sumer has transpired into fall, fall into winter.
life has been happening in the cracks, the small moments.
oh, sure, grand things have happened. adventures and explorations. we went away for the summer, visitng friends + family and exploring new places. satine started 1st grade. navia started preschool. they are seven, three, and one and a half. our family rhythms and dynamics have changed three or four times over as the children grow through various stages...
but mostly, mostly, even in the traveling, life happens in the small moments.
the mundane, the daily tasks.
so much of loving, of parenting, is not in the grand gestures, it's in the way you tie their shoes. the way you wipe their noses or put them back to bed the third time in an hour., the way you love them through a tantrum. it's in the daily tasks, the sweeping of the floors, the folding of the laundry, the making of the coffee, the changing of the diapers, the scooting over to make room for one. more. kid in the bed when you've already been elbowed and have no covers. it's in the picking up of rocks and acorns on walks, the laughs, the cuddles, the boo-boo kissing and block building and bathtime splashing and bed jumping and airplane-leg-riding.
these are the grand gestures.
in the just-being-there-ness, in the the being-in-the-thick-of-it-ness.
in the showing up and being present.
we've been in the thick of it. i've been in the highs and down low in the trenches, trying with all that i am to show up, fully present and open hearted, to all of it-- the good, the great, the sometimes great, and the not so great. surrendering to this time, this process. the elated joy and gifts of children, as well as the chiseling intensity in the cracks of motherhood.
there has not been a lot of room/space/time for other things...hence my "maternity leave" morphing into an unexpected full-blown "hiatus" from my photography work, which i've missed dearly (probably one of the hardest things about this time, but it's all worth it and we've made it through this most intense stage!) : )
coming up for air a bit now, wanted to get back to documenting our small moments grand gestures, our justbeingtogether-ness.
i took keats and navia out for her three-year photoshoot and some playtime in the woods.
i wanted to record, to see. life's so fast, i need the photos to remind teach me what happened...
oh sweet navia.
oh sweet keats.
thank you.
thank you.
thank you.
i am so grateful for these rich, full days.
* * part 2 cont'd in next post **
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