Friday First Memories

Happy Friday everyone!  We made it!

Some weeks this feels like such a joy to reach this day;  other weeks it feels like the week flew by and I wonder where all that time went!

This week… I’m somewhere in the middle!  I’ve been taking notice lately of the time.  The time I am spending with my little one and how and where we chose to spend our time.  Quality time versus quantity time and usually, like my mom has always told me and I’am realizing of course she is always right, it’s those small in between moments that are the most meaningful!

I’m noticing all this and paying special attention right now because I have some really exciting news!  You see, I’ve been working really hard friends with Bonnie.. from B is for Bonnie designs to create a whole new brand and look for my business!

This past year and last year even were such big years for me and for our family!  I learned a lot about myself and who I am and who I want to be as a person and especially in my business!  I learned where my heart is and who my heart is pulled and called to serve!

Back in March right when I had all these stirrings and seem to find myself, I met Bonnie at Creative and I just knew then.. she was the one that would help me bring everything to life!

We are well on our way now… in fact, we should have everything completed and exciting new surprises and goodies to show you all come October!  For now though, I wanted to share with you WHY some of the pieces you will see are oh so very important to me and where all my stirrings came from.

Welcome to First Friday Memories!

We all know that the core of my being is that Real is Better Than Perfect and that when we can let go of the masks we hold up and share our true selves magic and true human connection can happen!  I also believe that real images, the ones where we are vulnerable, the real and raw and endearing images we have when we are truly ourselves can leave our lasting legacies for our children!  This is what my parents did for me!

What is the first memory that you can remember?  How far back does it reach?  Is it visual, tactile?  Maybe it’s a smell or one that your parents told you so often that it’s formed in your mind like for me.

I can remember the scent of honey suckle so vividly that if I smell it to this day I am taken back to riding on the back of a bike with my parents down at the oceanfront.  My parents used to take me twice a day, sometimes three when I was younger than Linc.

When I smell the salty sea air, I can remember holding on to the nose of my dad’s surfboard and riding the waves in the shore at two years old.  I can remember being held by my mom and going out so incredibly deep in the ocean I could barely see the shore and splashing for hours and hours all day long!

The sand between my toes and fingers remind me of sunrises and sunsets with my mom when my dad was at the fire station!  She would wake my brother and I and we would often bike down there (stuffed animal in hand for me) pj’s on and we would sit together as a family enjoying the colors lapped up by the waves!

You see, these are all the traditions that while they were happening my parents never truly thought about it!  They just did and enjoyed!  These simple moments, these REAL moments of playing and laughing and being together.  There was no internet, there was no social media or instagram or facebook or cell phone calls to make;  just real time that we had together to BE together!  They took the time to do what they loved and introduce us to them and in doing so they created a memory and a legacy so strong that it’s  imprinted on my heart!

So today… I take my son to the beach at sunrise or sunset so he can appreciate the same moments that I did with my mom and dad.  We take a bucket (a pumpkin bucket from halloween mind you) and we collect the treasures that he finds.  We play together and we don’t bring our phones!  I chose to document this time with my camera so that he can one day understand why the smell of the salty ocean means so much to him or the feel of sand between his hands.  I chose to document this for me and for him!

What are some of the traditions that you have brought from your childhood into your children’s lives?

This is why I believe in real moments!  This is why I truly believe that capturing our family moments in a way that isn’t posed or perfect is incredibly important.  It’s the moments in between that will one day be the most precious!  The moments where we can see the interaction and the true intention.  Where we can see the true love and affection for one another in a moment that is simple and loving and something that happens everyday.  One simple act of unconditional love from a mother or a father or a child is something that will be cherished forever!  That’s what I want to capture.. every single day!