Shutter Sisters

captured

By

Childhood is fleeting. There’s no way around it.

As mothers, in our melancholy moments we know this all too well. And yet on many days we find ourselves inadvertently wishing it away, eagerly looking forward to things to come. I can’t wait until she can sit up. It’ll be nice when he’s out of diapers. I’ll finally have time when my kids are in school.

Or what about when looking to the future feels more ominous than that. I think the terrible twos are setting in. I am petrified of what the teen-age years might bring.

With an 11-year-old in seventh grade, I’m quickly approaching the reality of what has scared me most about parenting. THIS age. The changes are coming so fast my head is spinning. Body, mind, attitude. Changing, changing, changing. Don’t get me wrong. It’s wondrous watching my daughter bloom. But, putting it mildly, it’s not without it’s challenges.

The other night, while sifting through the archives, I came upon this shot of her from a number of months ago. I was stopped in my tracks. THIS IS my daughter. I know in years to come, as she becomes more and more grown up,  I will cherish this shot even more than I do now. It’s a moment in my daughters life that is captured forever. It’s images like these that keep us shooting, I’m sure of it.

Share with us a quintessential shot of someone you love. Let’s see THE perfect capture.

Comments

  6. My 11-year-old started middle school last month. Sometimes I watch her and wonder what I’m in for when the teen years hit. The other day after I watched her walk out the door to catch the bus, I thought about when we moved into the house 10 years ago, and how her idea of checking out the new place was climbing into one of our kitchen drawers. I have a pic of that, too, if i find it, I’ll post.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/88988685@N00/3685796838/

  11. So spot on Tracey.
    I find myself wishing back the wishes for the easier days.
    Cause the "hard" little days are gone. Vanished.

    Here’s my recent shot of my baby boy…big and tough.

    http://aubreyplays.blogspot.com/2009/09/tough.html

    {It was sure tough seeing you come home all bruised up from paintball today. I know you’re a tough guy. I know you had a BLAST. So it was tough for mom to encourage you to go back and do it again. And soon. I know it is tough on you trying to please everyone. It is tough always being nice to your sister. It is tough to always try your best to do the right thing. But you are tough enough to do that too. It is tough to see you grow up so fast and even tougher to have the trust to let you go off into the world. But I love you. I know you can. And I am so proud of you. You don’t always have to be so TOUGH. Remember that too.}

  22. Fleeting…as a father, in my most melancholy moments I know it also, all too well. Here’s one of my favorite recent pictures of my little girl, at two and a half years old:

    http://planetbabyburdett.blogspot.com/2009/07/girl-in-hat.html

    and another that I love:

    http://planetbabyburdett.blogspot.com/2009/06/these-hands.html

    and a final picture from nearly a year ago, which almost breaks my heart (because she’ll never be that young again):

    http://planetbabyburdett.blogspot.com/2008/10/jessica-and-squeaky.html

  23. i took a photo this summer of my two oldest sons rough-housing. they are hot and sweaty and dirty and LOVING each other! the ease of summer has passed and we are full-swing into school and sports. so this image reminds me of easier days and why i have three children. love. love. love.

    http://myinbetweentime.blogspot.com/

  27. a moment like this remind me of my daughter. Thanks God we have camera to capture every special moments in our lives. Yes, your daughter will be grown up but the memories you’ve shared together will also be in your heart forever, isn’t it?

  29. i love this post- i love your thoughts and can relate to them- we just had child #5 in january- our last- oh to go back and have a moment in all of their earlier years to soak up those times- i am afraid i wished too many ages and stages away with the older ones- thank god for lessons learned- i have finally learned to live in the moment, this moment, and enjoy it- feel it, smell it, taste it- keeping my head out of yesterday and thoughts out of tomorrow- thanks tracey!
    my post today was not so much a specific shot- my ironically i posted an update on all of the little things my youngest is doing now- i love these little inventories that define who he is in this moment- http://www.momsdailyretreat.com/notesfromtheedge/2009/9/15/life-at-9-months.html
    have a wonderful wednesday

  30. i knew the moment I saw the pretty girl above that it had to be one of Tracey Clark’s girl. Beautiful photograph!!

    the photos that i posted last year on her 19th birthday pretty much represent the quintessential shot that you speak of.
    http://spreadingwings08.blogspot.com/2009/02/joy-of-my-life.html

    at age 2 with her curly hair, her funny character and cheerful disposition, i wanted to bottle her up and keep her that way forever, but now i look at her and i’m amazed at the pose and charm she has as an adult – still funny, let’s her hair go curly some days and the typical sullen attitude of a teen gives way to cheerfulness most days.

  34. Ah, I love this post. It is heartbreaking, isn’t it? I don’t have a child of my own but this is something I have been struggling with as my baby sister turns 13 this year. I don’t have the heart to talk about that yet so, for now, here is my niece who is also breaking my heart as her baby voice starts to disappear, her legs get longer, and her cheeks less chubby…

    http://reezypeezy.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/pause/

  37. Oh, Tracey. Did I ever need to hear (and see) this today. My 12 year old 7th grader told me, "I hate you" this morning. And I have been reeling; tumbling between the sting of her sentiment and feeling so angry at the way my day was derailed… she is afterall a child… But it hurt. And I felt like I have failed her. But maybe she just needed to be angry for a moment. That little girl , my little girl, is still in there. Maybe I’ll look for her through the lens.

  42. Wow.
    So many beauties and so many moments in all these posts.
    Somehow this summer my 6 year old grew up a bit. Maybe it’s those 2 giant chipmunk grown up teeth that came in or diving off the diving board or going to the first day of camp without even a bit of fear or a look back to his mama.
    Here he is in his big kid glory (with his uncle who just started college!) and sound asleep with his brother looking like the baby he was.
    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zm20gejQo-SIXE9h3shyWQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqqlOSV5ZyYQw&feat=directlink
    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/csiJHGGC9POoRa8pQSpzLw?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqqlOSV5ZyYQw&feat=directlink
    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/00ryZJfzPXwcZTe2t99lzQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqqlOSV5ZyYQw&feat=directlink

  45. Gorgeous shot! She’s so pretty–just like her mom. :o)

    After a post from several weeks ago that prodded me to consider the vulnerability of the men in my life, I made it a point to document a little project the hubby and I worked on over our vacation.

    This shot captures who he is: at work, problem-solving, creating, always fixing things (often fixing me):
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tippingpointphoto/3876158597/in/set-72157622201930714/

    And to me, this is the perfect capture–we’ll look back on this someday and have all sorts of memories tangled up in it–some of which we haven’t created yet, but have planted the seeds for:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tippingpointphoto/3876161773/in/set-72157622201930714/