“We need never be ashamed of our tears” -Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

My favorite images always seem to be pretty unconventional. Maybe that’s because I’m not a mom yet? Maybe it’s the weird artist in me? Maybe it’s my inner desire to push everyone’s ideas of what is actually beautiful?

Whatever it is, this picture happens to be one of those favorites. There is something about it that makes me feel a sort of quiet peacefulness despite the obvious wails of poor Sienna as I was taking it.

And the tears. Oh, the tears.. they are so raw and real, an emotion we can all relate to and for both happy and sad memories…

When my best friend Hammie the hamster died; when I fell in love for the first time and when I fell in love for real for the first time; when I crashed my purple (yes, purple) 96′ Saturn carelessly into a fire hydrant as a teenager; when I officially graduated and got my Masters degree … (and so on, and so on..)

But despite how or why or when we have them, I think the best part about capturing these kinds of moments is that when your kids look back on them they wont ever think to themselves “Boy did I really want my paci that day…” They’ll only be reminded that they had a mom, dad, or big brother or sister who was always there to make their tears go away xo