Go Mighty Update : I DID IT!
Last week, right under the wire, I completed my Go Mighty goal of photographing 15 mothers and capturing the essence of motherhood. I’m so happy and excited to share this with all of you! It’s hard to put into words how much work this goal ended up being, especially considering the time crunch, but I’m so glad I did it. Early on in this process I decided I wanted the 15th photo to be a self portrait, and I’m especially pleased with how it turned out.
If you think this photo looks idyllic or transcendent…you might want to head over to Go Mighty and read the real story behind it. Things are not always what they seem. A little excerpt…
Yesterday, after four snow days and a blizzard in my city, I realized I had to take the photo if I wanted to complete my goal on time. I set up the tripod in my closet and while I was getting my daughter from the other room, my son climbed under the tripod and knocked it over, almost destroying my expensive DSLR camera and busting my favorite lens. Then, as I put the kids on the bed, my son kicked my daughter in the face and almost broke her nose.
It was not a pretty scene.
I tell you this because I don’t want to sugarcoat what motherhood is. This picture turned out beautiful, but it is literally a millisecond in time, captured at the perfect moment when we were all looking happy and at peace. We don’t look perfect (this was at 1 in the afternoon and yes, we are still in our PJs, plus I am drenched in sweat from shoveling a driveway full of snow right before we took the photo), but motherhood isn’t perfect. It’s hard. Sometimes you get kicked in the face by your toddler and you want to scream. Sometimes you’d like a minute to pee without an audience. Sometimes your kid climbs out of their car seat while you’re driving and won’t get back in it and you have to pull over and put them in time out on a curb, while drivers stare as they pass you by. Sometimes your kid comes home crying about a mean girl at school and you have to figure out how to help without breaking down in tears yourself.
But the sum of all the parts…all these moments…good and bad, happy and sad, terrifying and joyful, all add up to a perfect human experience.
I encourage you to head over to Go Mighty and learn about my story of motherhood. And the stories of a few more mom’s I haven’t shared yet, like Beth…
…and Lane…
…and Yaschicka…
…and Rita…
…and Ruth…
These are all women with wisdom to share. I hope you click over and read all about them. In the next few days I’m going to share some more awesome news regarding this project…I’m so excited, I can hardly speak!
And also, thanks to you for indulging me as I completed this daunting goal. I know I’ve been half here and half there lately (snow days + big goals + real jobs + daily life almost swallowed me), but I promise, things will be back to normal soon. Whatever that means!
Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to give it a look.
I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Wonderful blog and wonderful style and design.