One evening when I was scrolling through my phone, I came across a photo from what seems like a lifetime ago, January 7, 2020. My now 3-year-old was just 20 months and my 1.5-year-old wasn’t even a month old. I thought, “wow, I don’t even remember life then. So much has changed.” Then I thought was, “I wish I had more candid shots like this.”
I take tons of photos but I have very few of myself with my kid, especially candid shots. I’m typically the photographer who takes photos of my husband with my kids. I came across a couple more like that but not many. As a parent, the days are long but the years are short. I never knew how fast and slow time could go at the same time. But a photo is a way to freeze time and bring back those memories.
Make it a point to have someone take those photos of you with your kids. Not just the professional ones with coordinating outfits. Capture ones where you are present in the moment, eating breakfast together in your pajamas, sitting on the couch watching Blippi for the thousandth time, or outside pushing your little one on the swing.
When walking down the staircase admiring the beautiful photos I had taken by a photographer, my son pointed to the empty side of the staircase and said, “We need more on this side.” He is right.
I won’t be waiting for the next family photoshoot where it looks like we have it all together to hang up those photos. I will be hanging up some candid shots that I will hopefully have more of in the near future. And when I look at those pictures I can stop, be present, and the memories will come flooding in.
