Spring is in the air!! Right around this time of year, a lot of things start happening. My soul starts seeking everything adventurous and I become rather restless. When I was younger, I would immediately pick up a paddle and go kayaking or plan a hike. Now that I am a mom with a young family, trying to grow a small business, that looks a lot different. The weather gets warmer, the sunshine feels nicer, and I all the sudden badly desire a brand new wardrobe! Or find the need to refurnish my entire house, or spring clean to the max, reorganizing everything! (That one is my husband's favorite. Every spring, he goes through the same frustrations of not being able to find anything!) It's like this force of momentum that even I can't seem to control! Something just needs to move forward.
I was thinking about all these things as I tried to uncover the why behind me "needing" brand new jeans. My son and I were watching Bambi, and all the sudden, it all made sense. I was TWITTERPATED! Yep! Not exactly the way all the animals were falling in love; but twitterpated in the sense of having this overwhelming feeling or infatuation with all the material and consumeristic things that I've learned to associate with Spring- like spring dresses and flowers, adventure, and fun pastel materials.
Since one can never seem to think particularly clearly when twitterpated, I took a step back. Even though I really wanted new jeans, a brand new couch, and countless random things that I put in my amazon cart for my kids' easter baskets; I turned my phone off, and took the kiddos outside. We picked forsythia flowers and daffodils and breathed in some fresh air. I thought about how much they've grown, and how much they've grown me as a person too. I decided that I would count my blessings and take in the world around me instead of constantly trying to create new spaces to enjoy. There's definitely a place for that, but my problem is in always needing the new and forgetting to appreciate the present. This spring, I am going to focus on my present. What is happening around me instead of what change I'm trying to create. Maybe this is something that someone else out there is experiencing too.
This is a photography blog, so let's really bring it all back full circle! What really helps me focus on my present is yes, staying in the moment; but also looking how far I've come. I love looking at pictures of my family and seeing the change that isn't as obvious day by day. It helps me appreciate what I have, and hold on to the feelings of love, belonging and joy that I find in these pictures and with my loved ones. So if you are on the fence about whether or not taking pictures is something that you want, I can personally vouch for having them! It's such a blessing to enjoy them in the present and again when you want to look back on how far you've come! Photography is so much more than art. It's preserving these moments, the special ones, and the ones that feel more ordinary, but become increasingly more important as time goes on. They are memories frozen in time to love, remember, enjoy, and appreciate your present!
Now, when my boys are old enough to go adventuring, I'm not so sure we are going to slow down and pick flowers when spring rolls around. Hopefully, you'll find us somewhere out west or exploring a river somewhere! Although, I hope we will continue feeling grateful for our present and enjoying the little things.