14/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

Stella: On our camping trip, you and your friends spent the entire time outdoors. You and your friends played happily for hours on this wooden platform with two old brooms, some bits of wood, some sea shells, and some stones. It was the stage for your restaurant at sea, your pirate ship, you entire little world. 

Hugo: When you wake up, most days you come into our bed bringing your "paci" and your "blank". We have agreed that now you're a big boy, the paci is only for sleeping time; it stays in your bed. Nevertheless, you try to convince us that it's still night time, that it's still dark, that it's not morning. You unroll every argument in your book, always prefaced by a very genial, "how 'bout..."

I've been noticing that the past several weeks my weekly portrait have been, shall we say, a little lacklustre. I find that when I'm busy thinking about (and lets be real, obsessively worrying about) big things like, ohhhh, moving to another country, it's pretty hard for me to be mindful with my photography. 

I'm tempted to make promises to myself, swearing that I'll do better next week, that I'll get a more glowing portrait, but the reality is, life is crazy right now, and it probably won't happen. So, better to accept what is, rather than push against the tide. 

Which brings me back to my motto for the year: Be like water. I couldn't ever have imagined how exactly I would need these words this year.