Manage Expectations While Living Your Life At The Pace Of Toddlers
LIFE BALANCE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY PHOTOGRAPHY CLIENTS
Her energy is boundless. I could see that her life is all about family. I felt instantly safe and at home. Her warmth permeated the entire house. At that moment, I knew they were special. That she was special. A mom who engages and a woman who inspires.
Her family doesn't wake up and make big plans for the day. With four kids in tow, they know their days, hours, and even seconds are unpredictable and distracted as life can be with children.
Her eyes and tone express thoughtfulness and love for where she is and how her life is unfolding. She laughs as she tells me how a normal day unfolds,
“We live at the pace of toddlers.”
To this day, her words are burned on my brain. It's such a genuine admission highlighting the lack of control we parents experience. How we're forced to let go and lower expectations.
One minute separated by walls and another found them all rolling about in the same room. There’s a palpable, magical magnetic pull in their home. Endless energy.
Families have traditions, even if they don't think of them as such. Routines or repeated actions our children will grow to recall with fondness and often longing. For this Alamo family, the toddlers have designated one-on-one time with their dad dubbed “daddy talks.”
They quietly sit with each other. Waiting to see what the moment will hold. There are no expectations. This is their time.
As you can imagine, the quiet isn’t long-lived. This is the ebb and flow of life with small children.
I’m in awe of families with four or more children. As one of my clients once told me, “you move to a zone defense. Man-to-man is no longer an option.”
This makes me think of finding the flow. They're forced to be more rhythmic with their actions when outnumbered, and from a family photographer's point of view, it's absolutely beautiful.
Their family dance is so fluid you don’t see any breaks in-between songs. They move around their home, swiftly changing partners and rooms without missing a beat. It’s magical to watch.
From excited to frustrated to deep love. Unconditional love.
And the parents seem to bask in it.
Parenting is smoother when we release our thoughts of "living in the chaos" and recognize that life isn’t as much a circus as it is a ride.
Wild at times and soft at others. When we find ways to enjoy where we are and aim to create more highs, moving through the lows becomes easier. And it's okay to live in the middle. Sometimes that's where the most magic resides.
Psst… Looking for a family photographer? Aside from a limited number of at-home sessions with families that have at least one baby, I photograph moms with tweens/teens, single moms and their kids, and headshots for women. Check out the details on my photography page or family photography website.
