Capturing Time

The other day while running errands, I caught sight of my sleeve and realized I was actually sporting my 11 year old’s denim jacket instead of my own. 

Where does the time go?  It seems like only yesterday my life revolved around pushing strollers, wiping bottoms and cutting solid foods up into minuscule pieces.  It got me thinking about all the cliches we use in our everyday life to express how quickly…how precious time truly is – it flies, it never stands still, it cannot be rewound and once it’s gone, you can never retrieve it.

When our kids were babies Steve and I took enough pictures of them to create a stop-action movie – first smile, first wave, first crawl and first walk.  I scheduled photos sessions at one month intervals – “because they change so much”.  Once they hit school-age, we, like many families, defaulted to relying on school photographers to capture our children’s images.  Unfortunately, they aren’t always the best representation.  Oftentimes their posture is rigid, smiles are forced and their hair is misbehaving badly.

Now that our son is nearly a teenager, time is beginning to feel like the enemy.  While his freckles and baby blues remain virtually unchanged, he’s now nearly eye level with me. I’ve noticed his passion for Star Wars and LEGOS now has to compete with his added interest in music and girls. His wardrobe of screen-printed comic t-shirts is slowly being replaced with denim and khaki. His once short, auburn hair is now a thick curtain that must be tossed every few minutes in true pop-star fashion.  Last week his dentist told us it was time to get braces. There are so many changes happening inside and out and I want to be sure I have these in-between stages documented. I want photos with and without his adorable little cross-bite.  Likewise our eight year old daughter is beginning to outgrow her fairytale dreams and is developing her own sense of style.  My days as her hairstylist are numbered – braids will soon be replaced with a bob and bangs.  

Time can wreak havoc on memories – vibrancy replaced with dullness.   And, while my children have long surpassed the developmental milestones documented in most baby books – there are plenty of changes I wish to record before they leave for college.  So, although time refuses to be bottled, with the help of a skilled photographer, it can be captured and transformed into something timeless.

Photo credit: Natalie Ulrich Photography