Dear Mairyn
It’s almost impossible for me to believe that nearly a year ago, I was walking out of the Hawkesbury & District General Hospital, having joined you only moments after you were welcomed into this big world of ours.
In the months since you joined your parents, I’ve seen the sparkle in your mom’s eyes when she talks about you and I’ve felt the strength of her need to be with you. You’ve enriched her life in ways that you’ll never truly understand, but in ways that I hope you’ll feel through her words and actions every day of your life.
Your mom goes back to work pretty soon. She’s looking forward to meeting this year’s crop of kindergarten kids, but I know that even though she pours her heart into her work, her whole heart will never be in her classroom because part of it will always be with you. I can sense the dread she feels when she thinks of having to leave you behind each day and, even though I know that she’ll be just fine, I know she’s probably in for a rough first couple of days as she adjusts to your new shared reality of separation.
I’m going to let you in on a secret: I photographed you and your parents for a whole day in the life session – 12 full hours – and I left not really knowing what my story was. I knew I had documented a mom loving her kid; I knew I had documented a comically expressive baby; I knew that you officially have no interest in cows or kittens, can poop like an absolute trooper, attack your grandparents’ cat in a way that left me wondering how you escape unscathed, love to do this head bobble thing that makes me laugh every time, and eat yogurt with berries in a way that makes it look like a cannibalistic massacre has just happened. But I didn’t fully appreciate what I had focused on throughout the day until I went back through all of the photos.
When I looked through your photos, what I saw was a Mom who looks at her baby like she’s the only human being on earth. I saw parents completely enamoured with their child; completely enamoured with the quirks, the facial expressions, the habits, the learning and the way that their little girl is growing and experiencing the world around her. Your mom is never going to get these 12 months off with you back again and she knows it, so she’s living it the best way she can.
That makes for quite the story, as it turns out.
Here’s a look at the story of your day, Mair. May you have many more just as full of love.
