i’ve had some personal photos i have wanted to share this month, but haven’t done it for some reason. but now i am.
first up are some shots i got of anna one morning before it was time to get ready for school. this look is entirely her own, i had no part in it. she is still obsessed over her skates, and i laugh because she reminds me of one of those roller skating waitress pin up girls from the 1950′s, what with her ample and scrumptious little girl roundness and the way she rolls and turns doing chores or helping me in the kitchen.
one of her favorite things to ask me to do is walk quickly holding her hand through our main rooms downstairs, and then turn, spinning her and letting her go at the same time. she spins and flies into the other room, giggling madly, her eyes wild with happiness.
a couple more from that morning. expressions that are so completely natural, so completely her.
and there was the afternoon that i watched the falconbridge girls. yindi entertained me with the way she ate cheerio’s. the girls were up to their usual antics of running around in the backyard in their birthday suits. this time with more mud! and chalk rubbings of bottoms and hands and bellies!
then there was easter. we had a really nice, quiet morning at home. rachel and i had decorated the kitchen table the night before, filling the baskets, and hiding eggs all over the downstairs and backyard. i was jarred out of sleep in the morning by anna, who came rushing up to my side of the bed, whispering loudly, “MOM! ITS A MIRACLE! the easter bunny hid eggs! AND HE LEFT ONE IN MY ROOM!”
the easter bunny smiled and kissed her excited little girl. she thought about staying in bed but couldnt resist the excitement. plus she wanted to see who was the one to find the egg inside of the BBQ. (it was nathan).
after the hunt, and a big homemade breakfast, we all got ready for the beach to meet up with my family for an afternoon beach picnic.
unfortunately, the weather uncooperated with our plans, and after a few hours of biting cold wind, we decided to head back to our neighborhood pool. the weather we experienced at home was completely different from what was happening at the beach.
and then, just a couple of days ago: these.
these.
when i looked through the camera and saw him standing there, looking at me, i was startled at what i saw happening on his face. its something i see nearly every time i photograph a young teenage boy. a look of polite reluctance, measuring me up, not quite daring to open up all of the way. there is an age when children lose the total abandon into which they look into a camera lens. when their self consciousness comes to the surface. for drew, it has happened. i snapped twice before it registered, and then i put my camera down and laughed and ruffled his hair, nudged his shoulder, told him to cut it out, and smothered his head with kisses.
by Tara Whitney
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