I really struggled this week to think of something to post about with this theme.  There has not been much time for ones self.  The overarching theme to my week is “Goodbye”.

Today I sent my big little girl off to school for the first time.  There were no tears this morning – we were all brave.  She was a little shy and nervous and clingy which is so not like Maya.  She is usually the loudest and most confident but today she was struggling with the newness of the environment and kids she didn’t know.  She had obviously built up in her head some sort of picture of what school would be like and when she got there she said to me “It is not what I expected” and didn’t want us to leave.  But to our relief she met us with massive smiles and hugs when we picked her up and that’s when I had to hold the tears back.  Tears of happiness that she had had the best day ever.  She is ready and eager to learn all that there is and will embrace school with big and probably slightly too tight squeeze, a twirl in her step and most probably have made up her own song about it by the end of the week.

At the other end of the spectrum, tomorrow we are laying to rest my Nana.  It will be a sad day but she fought the good fight and lived an amazing life and can now be at peace with my Grandpa.  Nana will be forever remembered for her mushroom picking, kisses smack bang on the lips for everyone, Saturday night roast dinners, fruit & veggie orchard and garden and her amaaaaazing cooking and baking which my cousin and I yesterday tried to replicate for the wake.  We will gather our tight knit family together and celebrate her wonderful life.

Which brings me to self.  Whilst I searched through old photos of my Nana for her memorial slide show, I realised that there are not a huge amount of her.  She is a mum of course and that’s what tends to happen – the mum’s are the ones holding the camera and don’t often get in front of the lens.  Either that or they hate being in front of the lens which was my Nana’s case – not a massive fan of photos.  I did manage to gather up some beautiful pictures but it is a reminder that it is important for our family and children for us mums to be present in our photos and memories for years to come.  Another reason I love what I do – I can capture precious memories for generations and throughout my long photography passion I already have done that with many many albums to go through.  If you don’t want to think about the now – think about the then.  Although my husband is great and will grab the camera from time to time, the majority of the photos of me are selfies with my kids on my Iphone.  I look forward to getting professional family photos done each year and for the in-between everyday moments, Iphone it is and I’m ok with that.

One day I’ll practice the self portrait – I’ve been a little scared to do so and this week is not the time so here is an Iphone selfie of myself and my big school girl from our holiday last week.  It’s not the best but it is a beautiful moment captured that I will remember for ever now.

Vicky Palmieri – Vicky Palmieri Photography
http://www.vickypalmieri.com/vpp-blog/

Amy Rushbrook – Lark + Bear Photography
http://www.larkandbear.com/blog

Sheree McCready – Super Love Photography
http://www.superlovephotography.com

Kate Bailey – Kate Bailey Photography
http://www.facebook.com/katebaileyphoto

Kylie Fergusson – Firefly Images
http://www.fireflyimages.com.au/blog

Lesley Condon – Lesley Dodd Photography
http://www.lesleydoddphotography.com/blog

Nicole Proy – Mockingbird Photography
http://www.mockingbirdphotography.com.au/blog

Kylie Dunlop – Kylie Dunlop Photography
http://kyliedunlopphotography.com/blog/

Isabel Bowden – Isabel Bowden Photography
Website coming end of Jan

Sarah Ransley – November May Photography
http://www.novembermayphotography.com

Natalie Ireland – Natalie Ireland Photography
http://www.natalieirelandphotography.com.au/blog

Lyn Wilkinson – Lynette Wilkinson Photography
http://www.lynettewilkinson.com.au/blog

Tania Boyd – Tania Boyd Photography
www.taniaboydphotography.com.au/blog

Jerusha Sutton – Jerusha Sutton Photography
http://www.jerusha.com.au/blog/

Anna Todd – Anna Todd Photography
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaToddPhotography1

Courtney Holmes – Courtney Holmes Photography
http://courtneyholmes.com.au