Manic Tuesday

This weekend I met a family that inspired me. 

This family had contacted me when I was seeking special needs models.  I had been looking forward to meeting them and am glad that I did have the opportunity.

Their son that I was photographing has a disability, but is still every bit of a teenager.  :) He was a lot of fun and I cannot wait to share his images with you.

Since taking this new road to photographing children with special needs I have found myself emotional after sessions. Emotional in a good way. Through these children I see exactly what I see in my own son, Hope.

The one uniform theme I have seen through all the families thus far is love. When you watch a parent and child with special needs interact there is a different aura. The actions are tender, the mood is calm. There is no stress.

Don't get me wrong, I get this same sense from other families as well but there is a difference in intensity.

When I got in my car and drove off after my session with this family I unexpectedly started crying and I didn't know why.

What I realized was that this family inspired me in so many ways. You know that feeling when you meet someone and you want to spend more time with them? That was how I felt with this family.

They have 3 children with special needs and what inspired me about them was how "normal" their lives are. I enjoyed watching the interaction between all of them. I could sense the love and unity among them.  No one was defined by their disability (as it should be) and there was such a calm in their parents.

I could have sat there and talked to this family for hours.  Each child had such a unique personality and I would have loved to sit with each of them and talked to them more.

Thank you for sharing your family with me and leaving me inspired.  I can't explain the power your family had over me that afternoon, but I am honored to have met you all.