Son, almost four, Berkeley, CA.
One of the ways I’ve experienced photography, since the advent of children in my life, is that it freezes them (somewhere! somehow!) in a way that makes it possible to take their measure. Â Given that the way of youth is to be nearly constantly in motion, this is a special treat, inaccessible to us at all other times except during the stillness that settles over them in sleep (“Look how big s/he is! I had no idea!”, our voices joining a chorus of marveling parents the world ’round).
Sometimes, though, an image foretells as much about one of my kids’ futures as it does about their present. For a second I get an inkling that they’re growing older every minute, becoming somebody I might know, but don’t know. Yet.
He’s getting so big. Where does it go?
My thoughts exactly. Not sure what I’d do with it (time) if I found it. Speed it up? Slow it down? Reverse its course? There’s something I’d want out of each of those directions, is the thing. S’pose it’s just as well I can’t find it in the first place.
Ah, the seeking & catching of the archetype. So satisfying. Makes it all worth it doesn’t it?
Particularly, the moment when you see your love across the way and think, Wow, I’m never getting laid again.
We’ve decided you need one of these ether experiences at a minimum every three weeks. Just a little soul glimpse Kid, it’s all we need.
Let’s look for it, cuz it’s one of the things I hate to lose the most!