Take time to appreciate the dirt

Can you believe that my little man is becoming a big man?! Little Phin turned 8 months old. So my family got out to some highly infested bug sanctuary to do another session. I am so blessed. While I was trying to keep Mariana out of my light, keep my husband holding the reflector correctly and balance where I was telling him to put Phinley, I learned a little lesson. Well maybe a big lesson. Being a photographer I have been blessed with the capability to produce perfect images, some that have some times been good enough for a billboard. Last night my work road and motherhood road crossed paths.
I was working so hard to get the perfect 8 months shot of Phin-man, Mariana was helping, but defiantly was not dressed for the occasion! Mariana had food slopped down her shirt, hair not brushed and no pretty (bow)....those are must have for pictures right. Nope, I learned that her perfect little face will only be this little today, her little messed up dirty shirt, not matching shoes will only work for today. One day she may insist that she match, have expensive brand name clothes, and refuse to help me with her little brother's pictures. She just wanted to help me, make my picture better, make her brother smile, and all the while I didn't take the time to compliment that. I was more worried about the perfect shot. Pictures are meant to tell a story. So my lesson last night and today is, let them, don't gussy them up to be something they are not. Let the dirty face ones make the cut, let the miss matched shoes make the cut, let the kicking, screaming ones be part of the story you are telling. Little Phin is bowing his head in these, that one is my favorite, he had had enough. Man what it must be like to be a photographer's child huh!!!!! Thank you Lord for always finding a way to help me see life how You want me to see it. Thank you for showing me those little pockets of joy that I miss most of the time because I am too busy to see them, I think from now on my motto will not be, "take time to smell the flowers" but "take time to appreciate the dirt" Well there you go, I am real, I am a mom, and I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands, but what I do have I love to allow my kids to make me a better person.