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 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.
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 that it’s really important to me that I capture the ordinary, everyday times that we spend together as well. The bits of the jigsaw that fill in the gaps to complete the picture. The tantalising glimpses into who our girls are becoming.
The chaos, the calm and all the moments in between.
This monthly feature – The Moments In Between – is a space for me to share all of those magical bits that would otherwise just stay in a folder on my laptop, never to see the light of day.
AUGUST
August has been, in a word, lovely. We’ve had busy days and quiet days, rainy days and sunny days, days out and days at home. There has been no schedule to stick to, though we’ve settled into our own sort-of routine of lazyish mornings and adventurous afternoons. There have been difficult times of course, where one or all of us was either overtired or had too much energy to contain and so managing that is always a bit tricky. I firmly believe that we’re all doing the best we can with what we’ve got though and I think overall it’s been a good month, despite the (usually daily) arguments that pop up. We’ve certainly made lots of memories together – when I ask the girls what has been their most favourite thing about the summer holidays they find it difficult to choose, and usually settle on “all of it!”, which I’m taking to be a good thing.
I feel a bit mixed about them going back to school in just under a week – I love having them home, love the little conversations we have, love their creative minds and “I love you”s and extra cuddles. I don’t want them to go back. And yet I know they’re all looking forward to seeing their friends, to sharing stories about what they’ve been up to over the six week break, to learning about their new topics and getting to know their new teachers. And so, as the inevitable reality of readjusting back to the school timetable and extra-curricular clubs and homework is fast approaching, I’ve really enjoyed looking back at these images, my favourites from the month, the unposed moments of ‘us’ – laughter, connection and love.
Every month when I come to write this post I worry about whether I’ll have enough photos, and I never know what I’m going to say until I sit down to type it. And my worries are always unfounded because there are always enough images and my words, whatever they end up being, are always what is in my heart. And that’s all I can ask of myself really. I feel so very grateful to be on this crazy journey called life with the people that mean the world to me.
Each and every one of these photos is part of what makes us who we are. Each and every one of them tells part of our story. And I love them all. In fact, I might go so far as to say that some of them are my new favourites.
This is us.
(Note: I normally add a caption to each image but, like last month, I’ve chosen not to this time – I think they tell their story on their own without the need for words)
