As parents we are on that roller coaster in which we have a love/hate relationship. We love the hugs, the snuggles, the nighttime confessions about the school days. We love dinnertime talks. We love kitchen dance parties. And we love sharing secrets. But at the same time we face epic tantrums. We struggle with punishing the bad behavior and fearing our actions will send our kids to an adulthood of therapy sessions. I worry. All. Of. The. Time. Honestly, it’s what I do best. An afternoon a few days before Christmas, my son acted out and up and sideways and frontways and backways and eventually ended up being sent to his room. To my surprise, when I went to relieve him of his punishment, I found him sitting in his chair, staring out the window. In an interesting turn of events, he’d managed to turn his favorite chair into a “rocking chair” by taping pillows to the base. He was proud of his accomplishment, forgetting he’d been in trouble for his prior actions. I hunkered down in the corner, pinned between his bed and the wall, and just started photographing the moments that were slowly happening in front of me. We talked about things as we always do. He played with the blinds as he loves to do. He opened and closed the window while shouting at his neighbors. And when he was done, he left. He left me there with a camera and an empty room.
While these images aren’t of some magical place, I love them. And I’m so glad he sat long enough to talk to me and let me grab these moments. Even if they were all caused by a little bit of bad behavior.
Ahhh… but, yes, it was a magical place in time. That place you will never, ever regain. That one little piece of that particular time and space. Cherish these times as you receive them. The camera keeps them forever places!
These are stolen moments in time, a time that most likely won’t be repeated. But there will be so many more special, stolen moments that without these incredible photos wouldn’t readily come to mind. I love his expressions, his rolling of the eyes, his shouting to the neighbors, his sitting and lying positions, his way of looking forgotten or alone (when really he knows you’re there watching and observing his every move.) But the best part is he looks so comfortable in his room, in his skin, and in his life. He’s not out of sorts or mad or sad or even anxious to escape. his reason for being there has long been forgotten. now He’s just passing the quiet moments playing with the blinds in his darkened room.
This is one of those stolen moments in time that most likely will never be repeated. but, there will be so many more special moments like this that without incredible photos like these wouldn’t readily come to mind. I love the rolling of the eyes, the facial expressions, the many sitting and lying positions, the playing with the blinds and the peaking out the window.. He’s in a world of is own. His reason for being there has long vanished. he’s just there; not mad, or sad, or even anxious to escape, just there in his room in a corner in his green chair playing with the blinds.