i feel shy and protective about how much i felt seeing my friend after so long. our last meeting so strained and suffused in sadness. and to be so welcomed. to see so much joy and happiness and belonging. and to feel so much happiness to have loved and been loved by her…i can remember and be thankful and happy and grateful. 
who can stay mad when they learn they can throw stuff at the photographer. no one i tell you.
My sittings are important to me. Like I’ve been charged to capture and record this time, this phase,this moment. This was important for a different reason. This was personal. This is Kyre and her family. We have so much history together. From being in college and being in love and then breaking up and the hardness of that. And then to being back in contact and finally to being friends. I photographed her wedding to Ellen many moons ago. I knew the rightness and of their relationship. But I think it took seeing her, seeing them as a family to really realize how important she was to me and how happy I am for them. That life sometimes works our really well. That what we shared was pivotal (to me at least) and was a step on the road to the wonderful life that I have now. It was a great feeling to be so honestly happy without harboring any past hurts. It was important. 
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friends, but well, also myself. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other…me and non-working Libby. I’ve been savoring my time off….painting, cleaning, quilting, visiting. I’m sure I’ll need to start working soon enough. Thinking about how I want to make things better for the year, new wedding albums, new sitting options. But right now I’m thinking about
- how grateful I am to have a 7 year old friend teach me how funny Captain Underpants is
- how special a day spent travelling with my neighbor to visit our 96 year old friend is
- how amazing it is to spend 3 days carving a spoon in northern California with a dear dear friend (more on this later…)
- how much I’ve missed sitting at the sewing machine making a quilt for someone that I love
- how great my bathroom looks freshly painted, caulked and resealed
- how I’m really not as bad of a cook as I thought…if I just allow the time for it
- how I wish I’d fixed the closet doors 5 years ago, especially since it only took 1 hour
- and how much I’ve missed old friends and how glad I am I took a trip to visit and reconnect (much more on this later…)
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When I wrote the post about being happy I didn’t expect to get such an overwhelming response. Friends, clients, casual readers reached out with words or support, recognition, love, understanding. It was deeply touching and I’m so grateful for all of the wonderful friends, family and clientele that I have. It’s hard when you are in the darkness to see the circle of love and support that surrounds you. Hopefully I won’t need the reminders anytime soon but if I do I’m going to start by rereading the comments, emails and messages I got from many of you. Including this little gem I got from a recent sitting, “I am glad to hear you realized the picture you’ve painted is worth hanging. Because even though our family only sees you once a year my kids absolutely love being with you. I think they see your light shining through. In fact the day you came to our house I felt so at ease because I know you are so good at capturing their light
”
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My best friend visited this summer. It was beyond a doubt one of the highlights of my year. Her kids are amazing and funny and nice and interesting and most astounding and wonderful to me is that they are kind. We had sword fights and played with guns and lived in alien worlds. I became fluent in bey blades and Pokemon powers. I know a good deal about Phineas and Ferb. My friend and I shared a few drinks (or maybe a whole lot more but who’s counting) and we talked and looked at photos and just hung out. It was really great.
And she made a little video of me taking photos of her kids. Which I was sure would be all backside butt crack and fake fart noises but instead is all sunshiny and sweet. It’s not done. Because I suck and the photos are just now ready…the downside of being my friend…lots of photos but you have to wait 4 months (insert embarrassed smile with averted eyes and small chuckle). When those photos hit that video it will be magical. Until then they live in separate but beautiful worlds.
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A new client was explaining why she had decided to hire me…of course she loved my photos (natch) but she really liked that nobody matched. It’s funny, right? Not as funny as me telling another mom that the other family in the park was clearly not waiting for me…they were too pretty to be my clients (stellar interpersonal moment). What I meant was that they matched. Like, really matched. I think even their lip gloss matched. Even their panties matched (okay now I’m just being punchy). I love my clients. I love the crazy jumble. The casual happiness. I can’t handle the pressure of perfection. My photos aren’t perfect…light posts come out of people’s heads, the exposure is off when the baby smiles, the horizons crooked because I’m in ecstatic delight. So, no, they aren’t matching…they are happily real. It’s how I like them and I’m not afraid to say it. (And for the record i think my clients are gorgeous…and I’m not just saying that.)
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by libbylewisphotography
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