Our Time

Big bright eyes look up to me
Love and excitement is what I see

You reach with your hand To hold onto mine
Your tiny little fingers Are gentle and kind

You give a soft tug To lead me towards the door
Stopping to grab Your dolly off the floor

Tiny little steps Walking next to me
Stopping to examine Every thing you see

A rock, some grass Leaves blowing in the breeze
Smell a pretty flower A birdy in a tree

I love our walks together They make my life complete
Just a small reminder Of how life can be so sweet.

-Carol Ahrendt

I was especially touched during this session by Lilly, the beautiful daughter of this beautiful mother.  She was so gentle and sweet.  In fact a few days after this session my daughters were begging to play with her again and were very disappointed that she didn’t live close by.

I know that the baby to be is going to be in the best of hands.  I asked Lilly, during the session, what she would like to be when she grew up.  I listed off some popular ones like a ballerina, a cook, a teacher.  Then some real ambitious ones like and astronaut, a doctor or a soldier.  I even threw in some silly ones.  But I hadn’t said “Mother”.  And that is exactly what Lilly wants to be.  She wants to be a mother.

This response ad me thinking for most of the day.  Children idealize what they think to be the most glamorous jobs.  They want to be what they perceive to be the funnest most meaningful thing out there.  That is why some children want to be astronauts (in addition to their love of the moon).  Some children idolize a special mentor.  Perhaps a teacher that has meant a great deal to them.  But this little girl when asked the question wants to be a mother.

Some people might look down on her for her simplicity.  They perceive motherhood to be trivial and very unambitious indeed.  But to Lilly her Mom is the coolest and most fun person she knows.  She sees how much her mother relishes their time together.  And so the greatest job in the world to Lilly naturally is motherhood.

And I think she is right.  Sometimes I get caught up in the fun of starting up my little photography business.  I get lost in trying to become the best newborn photographer available to my community.  When that happens, when I get lost, there is always a gentle reminder around the corner.  That I am the proud mother of four beautiful children.

There is no greater job in the world.  None more fulfilling and rewarding.  To raise four beautiful children to be loving, generous, honest adults will be my greatest accomplishment.  My Mona Lisa.  Decades from now my children’s children may forget that I took beautiful pictures, but I hope they will know how much I loved being a mother.