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Annie was the grade below me in high school, she invited me to come enjoy their family gathering for her second born turning one. She organized a healthy brunch full of fresh fruit for friends and family to gather an commune. She also made an amazing gluten free cake because, bless her hear, her kiddo is allergic to quite a bit.
Kids are amusing and always surprising subjects to shoot. We did most of the family shoot in the front yard with the help of a very entertaining stick. I brought dinosaurs, but they wanted the stick. Family shoots keep me on my toes as ‘One’ is happy but ‘Two’ is not and then vice versa. I like to keep moving and stay cheerful and hopefully in the end they’re all having a goodtime. ( even if it’s with the stick in the shot).
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They let the little one dig in to her cake with carnal glee. Afterwards Annie looked at Mitch, Mitch looked at Annie. They both had a baffled expression and their arms raised as if unsure of how to even lift the baby out of the chair without getting covered. It was one of those moments where I’m sure you are wondering how badly people will judge you if you set the child in the yard and sprayed her with the hose.
An unspoken exchange and a quick nod, they signaled their plan of action to the other. It was a beautifully fluid moment of teamwork that I’m certain only people with kids can attain.
One lifted, the other guarded the chair from the roving highway of toy trucks and walkers beneath it. One peeled clothes and the other carried her to the sink with her arms outstretched
Annie scrubbed her chocolate covered cutie, who was giggling as the water rolled over her toes. Light rays from the single window broke into the dark room and highlighted Annie’s beaming face.
For the briefest moment I wondered would I do all of this for my kid? To any single kid less adult, inviting a room full of children over seems like the most intimidating thing ever. It dawned on me quickly. A lot of people don’t remember childhood events, but what kid doesn’t remember their birthdays? I still remember my mom going through special pains to make us cool cakes. I remember the excitement of getting to have SO many friends over at once. Why would you not go through the effort to make your kid feel really really special? I am a hundred Percent sure that these mammas struggle with:
1. It’s way easier to be lazy
2. sleep depravation, it’s a real thing
3. life is busy
4. is your kid going to actually remember this?
and yet HERE THEY ARE! Making effort. Being present for their child's attention. I think that’s worth a little round of applause. You go sacrificial mammas ( and daddies), you go.
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