I take hundreds of photos every month, and most of them don’t get shared with anyone, let alone online. And yet the moments in time that those photos capture are just as important a part of our story as the other images that I do choose to share.

I originally created this blog as a way of documenting our lives, a way of watching the girls grow into who they’re going to be and a way of remembering who they once were. It’s something I want them to be able to look back on as they get older, because memories fade but (digital) photographs don’t.  A legacy, of sorts.

It’s easy (and tempting) to only focus on sharing the fun bits, the memorable parts, the highlights and the celebrations. But I’m learning more and more as I continue through this crazy journey of motherhood and life that it’s really important to me that I capture the ordinary, everyday times that we spend together as well.

The pieces of the jigsaw that fill in the gaps to complete the picture.

The tantalising glimpses into who the girls are becoming.

The chaos, the calm and all the moments in between.

This feature – The Moments In Between – is a space for me to share all of those magical and messy parts of our family life that would otherwise just stay in a folder on my laptop, never to see the light of day.

JUNE, JULY & AUGUST 2024

Summers are different now that the girls are older.  There is no need for expensive childcare or organised holiday clubs.  I can work in my office with clients or go out to run errands, leaving them by themselves for an hour or two, and know they’re fine. They bake, they go shopping in town together, they spend whole days in their pyjamas.  They see their friends and apply for jobs and have water fights in the garden.  They get bored and argue and bicker and hate each other and then the next thing I know they’re watching a movie or playing cards together (or watching yet more Netflix & YouTube).

I’m acutely aware that time is unstoppable and that it’s slipping away at a seemingly faster rate with every year that passes.  I’ve worked non-stop this season and I’m tired, although it’s an entirely different kind of tired to the tiredness I felt when they were all toddlers and tweens needing constant attention and entertainment, where their giggles and tantrums were pretty much in equal measure.

I’ve done my best to create space for us to do things together, and we have – we’ve made memories and had fun and shared experiences.  For me, those little glimmers of joy have been lightly touched with a tiny sense of sadness and nostalgia.  For them, I hope it’s been a summer to remember for whatever reasons they choose to remember it for.

This was us, and all of our moments in between, throughout Summer 2024…