Knoxville Family Photographer, Hannah Bucklin with Sweetest Moments Photography, writes, "To All The Moms, This Is For You!"
Do you ever feel like you just can't possibly do it all? I'm talking about all the pickups, the drop offs, the homework, the cooking, the cleaning, the grocery shopping, the laundry, the dishes, the list goes on for miles but I'm assuming you get the gist. This applies to every mother out there; you, I'm talking to you. Whether you work a full-time or part-time job or if you are a stay at home mom, the struggle is real y'all. Being a mom is really freaking hard.
I battle the misconception of having to get all of "the things" done every day of my life, sometimes to the point where I think I have an anxiety problem about it, and you know what, I'm pretty sure I do and that's okay. What mother doesn't? I view it as a reinforcement that we care about our children and our family's well being and are trying our very hardest to do all the things and do them as best as we can.
I often think to myself, and by often I mean at least once every few hours, how in the world will I ever have time to do all it all. Not only am I talking about the household chores but choosing healthy options, exercise, spending enough quality time with my family, and all the things between. Well there is one real answer, and that is you can't. We cannot physically, mentally, and emotionally do it all every single day. This is something that Mason (my husband) and I talk about so often I think his ears probably hurt but it's the truth. There are literally not enough hours in the day to give each thing you want or need to get done your all. At the end of the day, it isn't if the floors got mopped or the laundry gets done, all that really matters are those babies that you've tucked in at night and how you've survived another day with someone calling you "mommy."
In our journey throughout motherhood we wear so many hats and I feel like they sometimes get brushed under the table. I'm talking about motherhood as early as before you actually became one; that lasts all throughout our lives. We get all of these ideas in our head like a cluttered Pinterest board of the family we want to be, how we want our family to look, how many kids we want to have, what our dream house looks like, what schools our kids will go to, our dreams for our children, having grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the list doesn't have an end in sight. Then, when one of these things doesn't happen as we had planned, we feel like we've failed and in turn are in constant battle with ourselves and our expectations of who we strive to be instead of who God wants us to be. The one thing I know is that being a mother is not for the faint of heart. We put all this pressure on ourselves to have this "picture perfect" life and I assure you no one in this whole world has their life that put together and that is okay.
Being responsible for raising tiny humans that in a few years time are going to be actual people and not toddling around anymore seems crazy to me. I sometimes feel guilty about dreaming of the days when my kids can set their alarms to wake up (doubtful that will work but high hopes), heat up their own waffles without burning the house down, go to the bathroom unassisted and wipe their butts (can I get an amen!), buckle themselves in their own seat that's not rear-facing, oh and don't forget packing the entire pantry when you are gone for more than 30 minutes.
I also know that the days of having the kids home are short-lived and that I need to soak all of the sweetness of it up before it's gone. I need to focus my time and energy on other things than cleaning up the clutter of toys on the floor or making sure the windows are smudge free. What I want to remember, what I need to remember, is the bond that me and my children have and the feeling of their smallness and vulnerability. I want to remember their hands in mine as we're walking in the park, how the look at me as their safe haven, the curliest of first curls in that baby fine hair, their mannerisms and how they talk, their squishy little cheeks, their toothless grins, their abundant love for stuffed animals and imaginative play, the way they fit perfectly in your lap when your reading a bedtime story, or simply just wanting some extra snuggles. I want to remember the thickness of their little feet as they learn to walk, the way the house looks baby proofed better than Fort Knox., the way they look up to you and love you for who you are; you. There may be no such thing as perfect, but to your kids, you are perfect; you are you.
All of these characteristics of their childhood will be missed tremendously once they've grown older and out of this particular stage so why not preserve the memory of these details now? If you were given an opportunity to remember these moments that are happening right now, unfolding before your eyes, in your current season of life, would you take it? Would you give yourself the opportunity to freeze these moments so that in ten years time you can look back and feel like you've time traveled and are reliving that crazy, busy, stressful stage in your life. Wouldn't you take it? I know I would. Well I'm here to say that I have a way that I can help you.
Moms, listen closely, I want to give you an opportunity to preserve this stage of your life and the stage your currently in with your child(ren). I want to help give you that chance to preserve the love and connection you have for them at their youngest even when they grow older. I want to help you create timeless, beautiful memories that can be cherished for a lifetime. I want to help you tell your family's story in a way that can live on for generations to come. Moms, I want to work with your family to create emotive, spirited, timeless works of art that can tell your family's story in your current season of life that will never again happen in this world.
As a mom of three earthly babes and three heavenly babes, I know just how much the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words," holds true. I know firsthand that there are not enough photos of us with our children. I know that being captured in photographs as we are going through our own story of motherhood are few and far between. Moms, I'm here to tell you that I can change that for you. I want to give you an experience where you look at your images and feel a new sense of joy and see the nurturing compassion you have for your children. I want you to feel grateful for the messes and stressful days because there will soon come a time where you are going to miss it. Moms, to these tiny humans you are raising, you are their whole world; imperfections and all. I want to give you a chance to be on the storytelling side for a change and soak in all the beauty that comes with it.
Too many times are we the ones visually telling our family's story through photographs but too little are we included in that visual story. We aren't in enough of these once in a lifetime memories because we are on the other side of the camera capturing it to remember it for ourselves years down the road. Remember that we are leaving a legacy for our family to remember us by and for our children and their children to cherish for generations to come. We deserve to be side by side with our kids living in the moment and embracing it because we all know that we are all out here giving motherhood our best shot.
So, I ask you, are you ready for me to capture your family's story? "YES sign me up!" OR Maybe! I need to see more!
All photos were captured by Knoxville lifestyle family photographer, Hannah Bucklin, with Sweetest Moments Photography in Knoxville, Tennessee. Sweetest Moments Photography specializes in lifestyle family, maternity, newborn, and milestone photography sessions servicing Knoxville and the surrounding areas. To learn more about the sessions that Sweetest Moments Photography provides to families in Knoxville, Tennessee and the surrounding areas click here.