Some time way back in September I started writing a very disjointed post about wanting another baby and realizing that I would never have a daughter. I was somehow going to tie in the fact that upon realizing my baby days were gone, as was the hope of a daughter, I finally parted with the Barbies I'd been storing at my parents house for the last 17 years.

Confession - I played with Barbies way past the age of 12 and then some. I eventually stashed them away in many, many boxes along with my Ramona Quimby doll where they stayed in Tom and Dana's garage until recently. Because like I said, I just gave them away in September. And giving them away wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be. It wasn't all like "oh my god, there go all the memories I won't have!" It was more like "why the hell have I kept this old crap for so long?"

With that realization came other realizations like that I don't really want another baby or a daughter. So I deleted the disjointed post that was trying to make something out of nothing.

Not that I expect you to make this jump in narrative with me, but all that back story leads up to some photos I took a few days after the whole Gifting of the Barbies went down. Because I took photos of the little girl who so graciously received my Barbies and I've been meaning to share them with you.

My friend Amy has photos taken of her daughter each year and asked if I would like the honor of being her photographer this go round. Obviously, I accepted and met their family down by river for a evening photo shoot. My favorite photos from that evening are probably not the photos Amy will pick for her album or place in a frame. They're mostly blurry. Second confession but not nearly as embarrassing - I am drawn to out of focus photos. They say so much more to me.



I think these photos are beautiful and I love them. Many of them remind me of a series of photos I took of myself during my art student days inspired by this Cat Stevens song. And that memory somehow brings us full circle. I am not sure how but it does. Black and white photos. Simple white dresses. The capturing of movement and time. The release of movement and time. Girls. Boys. Children. Self-expression. Contemplation. Acceptance and Love. Life. Cat Stevens.