It’s getting pretty chilly out. It’s time to start bringing in the plants and thinking about preparing for winter. I’m not sure how I feel about that! The past few weeks I’ve been cooped up inside, so the transition from summer to fall seemed to happen overnight. It’s kind of nice that way. Not a lot of back and forth.

As you know, I’ve been on leave for a while. It took a little bit to get back on my feet, but I’m feeling pretty much back to normal. It was nice to have some time off where I wasn’t able to do any work. I slept a lot and I feel like I got the sort of rest you only dream of having the opportunity to get. Although there was pain and nauseousness involved too, I had my wonderful husband with me who made me soup and brought me ginger ale for my stomach and drove out to the store that’s further away when I really needed a cookie first thing in the morning. I also had friends that kept in touch with me to keep me company and who came over to share cupcakes and popcorn, color, watch cartoons, and chat. A few even helped out by driving me to the doctor when my husband wasn’t able to, and brought meals for me. I’m really grateful. We have friends!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to work with a beautiful and fun family. I’ve talked about my friend Vivian a bit before. She had a baby boy about 6 months ago. We picked an afternoon and I drove out to her home to meet her partner and three little ones.

Now, anyone who knows me well knows that children can make me a bit nervous. Despite growing up with a large and close extended family, I never spent much time with the younger kids, so I never really learned how to interact with them. But when I stepped out of my car I saw a little hand poke out of the front door and wave. When I got out of the car I heard a little, “Hi!” and I knew this was going to be fun.

We spent the next couple hours doing a little sitting, a little playing, a little corralling. One of the most magical things about being a photographer is having opportunities like this. You get a peek inside families. How they interact with each other. You see bonds that you can’t see when you’re outside. It’s like you become part of the family for a few hours. That is an amazing feeling.

My child nerves vanished almost instantly. Viv’s kids were so fun and welcomed me into their family as a cool playmate. And have I mentioned how special her new little boy is?

I can’t stop gushing about him every time I see that big smile!

It was really comforting to work with a friend (and to make more!) and I can’t wait to shoot for them again. We all had so much fun, and it’s the biggest reward to see their happy faces. I am so thankful for their kind words as well. Our session gave me a huge confidence boost that I needed to get out there and start working with people more. I talk about how much I love working with food (and I do), but you don’t get the same emotions without working with loving families. It really fills your heart!