the power of a photo

photo taken outside the olde pink house on harper's sixth birthday

This photo terrifies me.

Because she's six...but I see glimpses of sixteen. I can see what she will look like as a woman,and it makes my heart hurt.

The funny thing is,I can see myself looking back on this photo when she is sixteen and treasuring how little she was.

She is so beautiful.

Do you ever have moments like this with your children? Where you look at a captured image and see glimpses of the future?

It simultaneously thrills and terrifies me.

And when things like this happen,my heart says a quick prayer and it always sounds a little something like this..

Please Lord. Let me be there to see the real thing.

Every day I watch her grow is a privilege.

I think every mother gets scared. Scared that it will be hard. Scared that she won't know what to do. Scared that something will happen and she won't get to witness it at all.

How does one photo have the power do that? It's actually quite amazing. And one of the many,many reasons I love photographs.

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

xoxo

S

Comments

[Jenni Hufford]

she is so beautiful stephanie. and oh how i feel the same way. i want to bottle this time up and cherish it forever. yet i am thrilled to see what God has in store for their little lives and their futures.... such a complicated, amazing, emotional feeling. xo

[Kami Pfingsten]

I totally get you on that feeling! And yes, she is soooo beautiful, I can see that "little woman" in her too! WOW!!!

[emily pitts]

i have a photo of annie at about this same age and had the same exact emotions. i only pray life with your sweet 16 year old will be as sweet as our life w/ annie has been. there were rough spots, but i love having teenagers. they are soooo funny. and they know EVERYTHING! it's the best :) and i'm not being sarcastic.

[Sherrie M.]

So true! Glad to know that I'm not the only one who thinks this way and gets scared that I won't be there to witness my three little girls grow up.

[Annie]

I just noticed this same thing in my 5 year old little man. He all of a sudden looks so tall and "old". Yikes!!

Harper is beautiful!

[Holly H.]

I look at baby photos of Zoe and think "this can't possibly be the same little girl." I look at her pictures now wondering how much longer until I have the same thoughts about these pictures. Harper is beautiful, and she has a beautiful Mama.

[Nikki M]

As my daughter's turn 4 and 7 this week, I have had similar thoughts. Wow...it goes so very fast. Treasure. every. moment. That's what we do, I suppose. Great post, as always.

[Dawn]

Stunning photo...stirring blog entry...i feel the same way so often when I see photos of my own children...

[ginny]

My daughters are grown now,but I have had those feelings. I've found every age has it's joys. My girls are now my best friends & we have so much fun just being together. Just enjoy every day with them because they grow up so quickly.

[laurie lariviere]

she is beautiful, she looks just like her gorgeous mom! I know how you feel about the power of a photo, my daughter got in the car a few weeks ago and handed me her 6th grade class picture. I stare at it and start to cry, the ugly cry, the windows are open, other parents can hear me...why was I crying? because she is suddenly a SPITTING IMAGE of my mother at that age...I lost my mom when I was 9, so to have my daughter grow up to be as beautiful and wonderful as my mom was, it's just a gift I can't explain...the other fear you were talking about, maybe something will happen and you'll miss things...I fear that all the time because of the loss of my mom...and at the moment I know of three moms and one dad my age who are dealing with cancer and the thought of missing my kids grow up scares the hell out of me...ok enough rambling, It seems we are all in the same boats as moms...it's amazing and terrifying all at once...hugs :)

[Michelle L]

I have a photo of my son at the beach. It's not even a shot that I had him pose for or anything but he looked up at the camera at just the right moment. It wans't until I had the actual photo in my hand a few weeks later that I thought, this is exactly what he's going to look like when he's a teenager. I thought, that is going to be one handsome fella and then I felt the anxiety of, oh crap he's growing up way too fast! Slow down! It all goes by so quickly that it's overwhelming. It seems like my oldest just started first grade and already it's the end of the school year. If that's the case then he'll be a handsome teenager before I know it and I'm totally not ready for that!
So, yes I definitely understand how you feel. =)

[kate]

Beautiful Steph. I love this: The funny thing is,I can see myself looking back on this photo when she is sixteen and treasuring how little she was.

Really beautiful and insightful. I fully understand, as my daughter just turned 6 last month.

[kate]

my heart says the same prayer steph...

[Lia]

Just recently started following and I love this post. I can't imagine when my daughter turns six let alone 16.

I really enjoyed this post and it is nice to know that I am not the only one who feels this way when I look at pictures of my (only) two and a half year old.

[Denise M.]

I completely understand. My oldest is almost 14. She'll be in highschool in just 4 short months. We just bought her 8th grade formal and she looks so grown up but at the same time I still see that adorable little girl that would rather play in the mud than dress up. How on earth did the time go by so fast? It seems just like yesterday. My youngest is now 6 and it truly is scary how in just a few short years she too will be in that same exact spot. But oh the joys of watching them grow and turn into amazingly awesome people!

[Jennifer]

EVERY SINGLE DAY. Multiple times a day. I wish they wouldn't grow so fast! And if they have to, I do pray that I will be here to witness the whole thing! For all 3.

[Stacy Hackett]

She is so beautiful, inside and out! I have a photo of my daughter at about age 7, where all her self confidence and sweetness is shining through. I thought of it last weekend when my now 17-year-old girl went to prom with her first real boyfriend. There is a shot of them looking at each other with such adoration that my heart felt like it stopped. Looking at that digital photo on my camera, I realized that she is a young woman--not my little girl. O. M. G.

Time truly flies. I love visiting your blog because you seem to understand that and savor your girls as they grow. And you remind me to do the same.

[tara pollard pakosta]

I TOTALLY have those moments, even when they were around 3-4 years of age. now that they are almost 11 and 12.5 I REALLY can see them getting older and it's terrifying!
love that pic!
tara

[carol in seattle :)]

I thought I was the only one who did that! I sometimes look around at my beautiful children and see them as teens or adults - or see my husband as an old man. It's amazing and terrifying all at once.

[clippergirl]

Beautiful.
I'm having a lot of these moments lately, my oldest will be starting High School this Sept. and my heart beats a little bit faster just thinking about it....they grow up soooooooo fast!

[Sarah H.]

I have those moments all the time, and I just want time to stop! I have loved all of the stages my children have gone through and I hope I continue too. The hardest thing about being a mom is letting go. Harper is beautiful, so is Sadie and so are the little girls. You are so blessed!

[stephanie b.]

I have so many times like that. My husband doesn't understand why I stare and stare at certain pictures, seeing our kids in a different way...

[emily (justem)]

She is beautiful. And yes, I totally get it. How can my 3 year old look like she's 13 sometimes??!!

[Linda E]

I remember having those same glimpses into the future when my now 16 and 14 year-olds were younger! Scary, yes! But some how, God manages to give it to you in BABY STEPS and while thinking about being the mother of two teens petrified me ten years ago, al of the on-the-job training has paid off and I am ready -- sort of!

[Kathy Martin]

Yes! I see glimpses like that when I look at my boy! They're bitter-sweet, aren't they? Maybe it's a reminder to hold them tight and appreciate where they are because it'll be long gone before we know it! :)

[Pidgen]

Oh my, I just totally bust into tears at the "Please Lord, Let me be there to see the real thing." I have no clue why, but I felt like I was really hearing you say that prayer. I'm not married, I don't have kids, but sometimes when I'm on you site, my maternal instinct is at 110%. Cray. And beautiful.

[Joyce]

Oh yes! When my 3rd grader brought his school portrait home last fall, it wasn't a picture of a little boy--it looked more like an almost teenager, and I stared at it and wondered, "When did that happen?"

[Brandy Layton]

I just took a beautiful photo of my 8 year old and 14 month old and it is bitter sweet. I see glimpses of the man my 8 year old will be and glimpses of the toddler and child my baby will be...it hurts in a precious way...

[Michelle Bazeley]

I absolutely get what you mean! I don't have any kids (yet), but I have a niece and 3 nephews. I try to describe to my other friends what it feels like to love them so much, your heart hurts.

The little ones have the same sweet faces, like Harper. Looking at them is like a swoony, heart flipping feeling.

My niece and older nephew are almost teenagers, and I remember vividly what they were like as little ones, and I am TERRIFIED of them goign to high school! I want to wrap them in bubble wrap and keep them safe.

I love reading youor blog!

[reyanna]

Hattie is only 9 months old, and I'm already having meltdowns! LOL. People tell you, of course, that it goes so fast. Oh, but it does! And it makes my heart hurt lately. Hurt so badly. Every time I pick up Hattie... from the changing table, the high chair, the potty (!!!), from her bed in the morning or after a nap... even if she's just crawling to me and wants to be held... I just have to squeeze her and kiss her all over. Every.Single.Time. I guess it's moments like those where i realize I'm savoring it. *sigh* But how and why do I still feel like I'm missing out on something? Like I'm not doing enough? That's how fast it's going. *sigh* It's tough... this being-a-mother thing! ;-)

[Kristi]

OH my gosh yes! I know exactly what you mean! I have taken similar photos of my son who is 6, and think the same thing "I just glimpsed him as a 16 year old" or "someday his wife will get to see that sweet grin".... its sad and exciting and terrifying. But yes, it is the reason why I LOVE LOVE LOVE photographs and keep them all over, even the ones that aren't perfect for a frame, to look at ALL the time!

[Natalie]

She. is. so. beautiful. :0)

[toni from]

Even two days later, that top photo cracks me up...thanks for keeping it real, oh how I remember those days, lol