Seattle Photographer’s Week in Review
It was a big, crazy week for all of us! A succinct summary:
1. There was a large fire in a family owned business just half of a block away. It breaks my heart.
2 . The heat is exceeding all expectations and beating all the records here in Seattle.
3. Air conditioning is rare. It encourages you to make plenty of friends who have it. Currently, the indoor temperature in my home is 86. Eighty-six. It’s painful to say the least.
4. In all the years I have lived here, I never thought I would dream of planning a family vacation to a colder climate. It’s truly mind blowing.
5. It is a wonderfully busy, busy, busy time of year for family photography.
On the way home from one of my five family photography sessions this weekend, I called my Mom; yes, I was complaining about the abominable heat. This is a tough sell because she lives in Arizona, but can sympathize with the thought of not having air conditioning. My mom is a solution finder. She can’t help it. Do you ever just want to cry to someone, but that person loves you so much they just want to fix everything yet all you wanted was a good cry? This is my mom. However, this time was different. This time I need a solution. And my wonderful mother gave me the most obvious idea that ended in a really magical day!
“Go see a movie,” she said casually. “That is what families here do.”
My mind went blank. You don’t take babies to theaters! Wait. It took me a moment to remember he is not a baby anymore! Brilliant! Within one hour my family was in a theater for the first time since the birth of our son. We took our 2.5 year old son to see Inside Out. While I am sure he did not glean much from the movie, he was enthralled. He watched the movie with intention, and I watched him totally enchanted.
Fear: Maybe it was a bear?
Disgust: There are no bears in San Francisco.
Anger: I saw a really hairy guy. He looked like a bear.
Sadness: Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life’s problems.
Take Away: Without much sadness, misery and uncomfortable moments, we would not get joy, new experience and happiness. Ironic, huh? This lesson is applicable to families, all relationships and life in general. We need a big bowl of all of our emotions in order to truly experience joy.
I hope you steal away to see this sweet movie. Until then, enjoy one of the wonderful family sessions I had the pleasure of photographing this weekend!
