It’s been a long nine months of 2017 so far. Filled with far more emotion and roller coasters than I had imagined. During the week, I keep busy working as a caretaker at a residential facility for at-risk youth, where I help counsel and protect over 25 teen girls. It is a hard-but-worth-it position to hold – much like being a mother is. Sometimes I feel the weight of what being a parent must be like. It has opened my eyes in so many ways.
As I photograph maternity sessions, I feel the immense joy of expectation and excitement. What an honor it is to hold a life inside your own; to be able to protect, nurture, and bring it into the world.
It’s no small task. As much as it is the highest honor, it’s the heaviest responsibility. Some mothers prevail, and others fail. Looking into the eyes of my 25 girls each day, I see the effects of a negligent motherhood; the ache for belonging and a nurturing touch.
Being a mother is so, so important. Every year, experience, and example you set is crucial to who they will become as they grow. Mothers won’t have all the answers. They won’t be perfect. But I pray that mamas around the world will believe in their influence a little bit more, and take the time to invest in their little ones. Because they will fail, too. But the difference in the course that their life takes will be contingent on one most important thing: if they have loving arms at home that they can feel safe in and return to.
If I ever am blessed with the role of motherhood one day, I pray that I can be that safe place and loving embrace. And that they know that in our home, family will always be valued.
Enjoy this ethereal woodland maternity session of my new friend Lesa. Her baby bump and new-mama glow was just too perfect! These were taken in a small, hidden ravine in Canyon Lake, CA. This quickly became one of my favorite maternity sessions to date!
xoxo,
