Our summer vacation took us down to Florida’s Emerald Coast…. twice. I pretty much feel like the luckiest girl, never having been to Florida until a few years ago, and now I’ve been a half dozen times.
On our way home, we took a little detour to meet up with a family I met earlier this year at a Wildflowers Workshop. Oh my, it felt like a mini hug-fest meeting Elizabeth’s husband and boys. I remember hearing her story over candlelight, her raw and fierce love for her babies. She’s something. The first night of the workshop, we talked about childhoods and early experiences and she mentioned the feeling of floating in water… the freedom and buoyancy. Two days later, she waded in to a freezing creek and laid back while Joy made a portrait. I stood with quilts, waiting to wrap her up and thank her for being brave and vulnerable and free just for those few moments. It was inspiring. It felt like watching a birth or a baptism, something holy and sacred.
I was so honored to swing through her hometown in Louisiana and chase after her and the boys in a gorgeous sunflower field. It was incredibly hot, the meanest ants I’ve ever met decided to eat my feet, and I nearly fell into a stream, camera and all. But it felt like an adventure and I remember laughing the whole time.
She let her boys be. She let them roam and eat dirt and wade into the water. She’s close but not hovering. She didn’t mind being wet and dirty and sweaty- she was all in, joyfully watching her boys be themselves. I loved this session, ants and all. I hope you do too.
