waiting... and waiting...

I was lucky enough to photograph a baby again last week (This is Louie! Look at all those smiles! Isn’t he ADORABLE??) and these in-home shoots are my very favorite. I love capturing families where they are most comfortable and where, should we need a quick outfit change, it’s easily doable.

I also love that while I’m capturing your family, I’m also documenting your home. Our houses change, or we change houses, and seeing the places we lived years later (even if it’s the same house — but a new furniture arrangement or a new paint color) is always fun. It brings me so much joy to walk into a family’s home and to play with a new baby or better yet, a toddler (I truly do love playing with those littles!).

This is why it has been really hard on me to wait my turn for the vaccine. I know my work is not essential — in any shape or form. I get that. But to make money, I often need to take photos of people unmasked. And because of this, I am keeping my inside jobs (which in a Minnesota winter is almost all of them) 2 weeks apart to make sure there is no cross contamination. And doing this affects my income more than I would like to admit.

Now, as everyone around me is getting vaccinated, it’s incredibly difficult to just wait my turn. My patience is running thin, which I’m embarrassed to admit. But here I am, ordering more in-home covid tests to make sure I’m safe and just… waiting for my turn for my shot.

I am super hopeful that I don’t have much longer to wait — maybe a month? Maybe two? But until then, I’m having to really work on my patience. And please don’t take this as a call for a way to get the vaccine early — I want to wait until I’m eligible, I don’t want to cut the line and take a shot from someone who needs it. I just really hope the doors open up to myself and my family (and yours) soon. Until then? Deep breaths, my friends. Deep breaths.