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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Clickin Moms (CM) 12: "New Beginnings"


I've got a lot of projects going on this year. As always I've over-committed. But, as much as I thought about bailing on my Clickin' Moms monthly project, I kept coming back to it.
This month's theme (the kickoff) is "New Beginnings". Lots of things had entered my mind: The beginning of a new year (of course). The beginning of a new project. The beginning of new resolutions. I had pictures of flowers blooming for the beginning of a new season (it's 80 degrees here today in the greater Houston area). I had pictures of newborns that I've been shooting in order to begin (hopefully) a portfolio (and new chapter of my life)....
But it all came back to this photo. We (me and DH [S2 as I like to call him]) had Blondie about 3 years ago. I was unsure whether I could/would/wanted to have more children, and DH was a late bloomer (meaning we got pregnant with Blondie and married when he was 37-years-old). We (I) made the decision that I was going to either have a second one by the time I was 35 or we weren't going to have anymore. S2 was worried he couldn't love another one more than Blondie. 

We ultimately decided to go for it, and after getting pregnant the second time were worried the second one would never get here (for miscellaneous reasons).
We got lots of advice: Oh, they're going to be best friends! They'll grow up together! They'll share the same experiences! But, after the second one arrived Blondie was only 17-months-old and it was a little scary - after all, until then Blondie had been the sole recipient of ALL the attention, ALL the adoration, ALL the affection. Now, she had to share. And, while S2's concern about being able to love a second one as much as the first was quickly put to rest, I, as a mom who loved both her daughters, reflected back on a lifetime of sibling rivalry and whether I had made a good decision or not.
So, here we have this photo. This photo, on its surface looks like two girls sharing a toy. But, this photo represents a full circle: Would we? Could we? We did. Should we have....yes...!! 

What you see before you is the beginning of a new relationship. One without rivalry; one with an understanding and equality (even if the equality and understanding is only represented through their mutual recognition that their parents are complete lunatics). 

This photo makes me choke up every time I see it and makes me realize this is the reason I do everything that I do.  To "New Beginnings"!!  Cheers!

And, with that, I throw it over to Rebecca, who would love to share a resolution-ending photo....
http://bartandbecca.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-beginnings.html

7 comments:

  1. Such a sweet moment you captured! I'm remember having some of those same worries when we were contemplating having a 2nd, but now I can't imagine life without her! :)

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  2. Such a sweet story & picture. Love another clickin (soon to be) mom

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  3. Jessica, this is so sweet! What perfect words to go with your adorable photo.

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  4. Beautiful photo, and story behind it!

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  5. Great story..it is really fun to read these...Love the photo!!

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  6. Beautiful! I absolutely relate. I worried so much about how my 2 year old would handle a new sibling only to find out that he completely adores his baby brother. It melts my heart!

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