Family photography in Sydney: 30 minutes in the life May

A visit from our Grandparents is always special in our house. Our families are spread out across the map of Australia. There are days when I wish we lived closer. I have wished and wished. But mostly I  accept that this is just the way it is. We are grateful for every visit. We make sure to  catch up on all the hugs, and kisses we miss during the year. Last weekend, there was much excitement in our house as my parents and my husband’s Mum visited at the same time. It wasn’t planned; it just worked out that way. We never say no to a visit, and so our house was full and over flowing. It was lovely.

We decided to visit Bobbin Head, which is located in Ku-Ring-Gai National Park. Bobbin Head is our one of favourite places to visit. It is close to our home, and we find something new to visit each time. It is a jewel in the city of Sydney. The weather was chilly, but we wanted to get out of the house for a while and explore together. We went for a simple walk.

As we walked, I realized my children are growing up. I know, they are growing all the time. We buy new clothes, and shoes as they grow out of the old ones. Sometimes, we just unpack the shopping bags with new shoes, and they say the shoes no longer fit. We see our children every day.  But then we really see.  It kind of knocks you off your feet, and you feel winded. It is not a bad feeling, more like “HOLY GUACAMOLE BATMAN!”  We see that they are as tall as their grandparents. We see that they no longer need to reach up to hold their hand. We see that when they hug each other, my children’s arms are wrapped around my parents, rather than the other way round.

As we walked, the memories of our adventures when my children were much smaller came flooding back. I realized the dynamics in my family have changed. It is a natural evolution, and one that is beautiful. My children stand shoulder to shoulder with my parents. Even the little ones are no longer babies. We are past the baby/toddler stage. We are in tween/teenage stage. I know many of us are scared about this stage, we face it with fear and foreboding. But I truly love it. I love the conversations we have. I love the laughter and jokes we share. Of course, we have our days of squabbles, and fighting. But on this day, we walked. I breathed in this moment. This moment that was just a walk with our grandparents, but meant so much more to me. I know the images that I take the next time we walk together will be different. I know the stories we share will be different, but for now I breathed in this moment and enjoyed 30 minutes in the life with a walk.

Now follow the link to see what happen in the world of  Sharleen N. Stuart Photography / South Florida Photographer this month.