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.

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 felt simultaneously as if it lasted forever and as if it passed in the blink of an eye.  The summer holidays are always a bit of a mixture I think – I absolutely love having the girls home with me and the fact that there’s no time pressure or restrictive school routine.  Everything is more relaxed with lazy mornings and late nights, ‘picky’ teas and spontaneous adventures.  It’s wonderful.  And then on the flip-side there are the daily arguments, the cries of “I’m bored!”, the constant requests for snacks and days where the lack of plans result in everyone getting a little bit grumpy with indecision and cabin fever.  On balance though, it was a good, if occasionally challenging, month.

It’s felt significant too.  With Mimi starting high school in September I wanted to soak up every minute I could, and document it along the way.  We won’t have this time again.  Before I know it they’ll all be out with their friends most days during the holidays and I’ll barely see them, so I wanted to make the most of it whilst I still have the opportunity.  The older two girls are less amiable to being in photographs now (though they do occasionally indulge me) which is why there are more than average images of Lola.

I’d originally had grand plans of capturing some video every day and turning it into a ‘Six Weeks Of Summer’ vlog, though that didn’t quite work out.  I consoled myself with keeping my camera on me at all times instead because every single moment matters.  I’ll try the vlog again next year instead.

As a result there are a LOT of photos in this month’s collection – it’s turned into a bit of an epic post so thank you if you make it all the way to the end.  I love every single one of these images, just as I always do.  They all tell such a story, both as standalone images and as a collection.

Our summer story.

I can remember every detail, every movement, every gesture and expression, from every image. The exact reason why I pressed the shutter in that moment. The thoughts I was thinking and the feelings I was feeling. They’re so much more than just photographs. They all have a meaning for me far deeper than the surface level of what you see.

Every single one brings back layers and layers of memories, not just of the moment in the picture but of moments gone before. Every single one speaks to me in so many ways. Every single one is a piece of our jigsaw.

This is us.