Every artist takes stock of their portfolio with a careful eye to detect patterns and themes that emerge in their work.  In my work, I see motherhood.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard mothers say, “I don’t have any photos of myself with my family” or “I hate getting my photo taken” or “I’ll book a session when I lose XX pounds.”  From personal experience (self included), moms are incredibly hard on themselves.  The world tells mothers, “enjoy every minute!” and “make the most of every day!” and whatever other bullshit mantras we are supposed to follow while being exhausted and covered in crumbs.  Is motherhood beautiful??  Yes.  Is it hard??  HELL YES.

I have been mothering for nearly 16 years, and 14 of them have been spent mothering beside some incredible women, the kind who build you up when you need it and are there with a snarky joke about parenting when you need a laugh.  This is a story about one of those women.  We made plans to take photos of her day with her four sons as a “day in the life” but while editing, I realized that my images tell a different story . . . one about a mom.  She feeds them breakfast, takes care of the dog, organizes the schedules, gathers the laundry, drags the crap to the beach, gets slapped around in the water by four boys, drags all the crap home from the beach, and picks up everyone’s wet swimsuits at the end of the day.  Mothering is hard, and tedious, and completely thankless.  

Who, but a mother, can understand how hard and beautiful it is, all at the same time?  In a world that screams “LOOK AT ME!”, motherhood is a radical act of love, poured out over our children.  We don’t always see it that way.  It’s impossible to see the narrative mothering tells the world, unless we photograph it for mothers to see themselves differently.  Here is a gift to my beautiful friend, photos of her motherhood, her radical love, her beauty, her hard work, and her joy.  Jeanne, I’m so lucky to call you friend.