A bat, a walrus, and spicy milk

Family photographer + educator | Charlottesville, VA

Last week I barely left my house.

I picked up groceries at 8pm and walked my two-road neighborhood at dusk with my dog.

I drove to the school and back to drop my daughter off for her first 3 mornings of second grade.

And once more when she forgot her show-and-tell bag.

I've noticed the crunch of leaves under my feet and remember this quote from Cold Tangerines about autumn and the audacity of joy -

“There’s no reason they need to turn electric bright red before they fall - but they do. I want to live a life like that.”

I often set Aaron in a little bouncer on the kitchen floor while I spread peanut butter on things and reheat coffee.

Somewhere along the way someone threw a beanie-baby walrus on top of him and now it’s his favorite.

The way he stretches when I unzip him from his swaddle after a nap is my favorite.

We found a bat in our air vent and that was a whole thing. But no one has rabies and the dreams about it are starting to fade so #wins.

Instead, I can’t stop daydreaming about starting a podcast even though I don’t know who would listen or when it would get made so for now I’m sitting on it like a jack-in-the-box that keeps trying to pop open.

The idea has fluttered to me several times over several years. I tell it I’m not ready to play today. Come back later. This time, I’m entertaining it with a running list of questions and sketching titles of topics on a back page of my journal.

The girl I knew when our teeth were crooked and we had thick bangs, who sang karaoke with me and hugged me when my grandparents died, who showed me food was beautiful and loved me like a sister had a baby.

And I got to make pictures of him and her and the man who loves them both and makes her laugh even on 2 hours of sleep.

They feel like a quiet victory and a warm cup of tea.

I remember again and again that my work matters because people matter.

We went out to an Indian restaurant with my parents and all three kids. I changed a blowout diaper in the back of my CRV and ate the most delicious seafood curry which looked similar but smelled much better. I soaked up the spices and the sight of my kids passing bowls of tikka masala, laughing about the “spicy milk” I’d pass to the baby later, grateful for every one of my senses.

I cried big ugly tears in the shower and laughed rolling belly laughs with neighbors. I danced with my kids in the kitchen and cuddled with my husband on the couch watching Schitt's Creek reruns.

I listened to an interview where a business tycoon declared “diluted focus leads to diluted results…” so I guess I’m doomed?

August, you beautiful mess.

leah

I have 2 spots left for September and 1 for October - if you’re looking for heartwarming family photos that feel wild and true, consider this your call forward through the swirl of life into a moment when all that matters is you and your people. If you know you're in, you can jump through the quick-link booking route here.