I've definitely been thinking about the things I want to do and accomplish in the new year, however, I've spent considerable time thinking about 2015. What a year. If I could sum up the year in one word, it would be "CHANGE." Tim accepted a new job, we moved to a different state, Savannah started a new school, we bought house, I started a photography business, the kids started playing instruments, and my brother and sister in law joined us in CO making it the first time since high school that my husband and his twin brother have lived in the same state. Those are just the first things that come to mind. It's been a huge year for change and growth.
That being said, my photography business is taking up a lot of space in my brain. I still have trouble calling myself a photographer. I've been in legit business for a little over a year now, and what a ride it's been. I look back over my work this past year and I find myself cringing and proud. Recently I was digging around in old external hard drives and a stumbled upon some favorite images; the ones gave me the photography bug. These were taken very shortly after I received by first starter DSLR camera. I was hooked on photography from the get go, but the thought of making a living from it was so scary that I wouldn't let myself think about it. Here are those images. They aren't great and the camera is that of a novice, but they're not so bad!
It was weird and wonderful to pinpoint the EXACT photos that I took when I knew I wanted to do more than take pictures of my family. But why did it take me nearly 6 years to do anything about it? What was the pivotal moment that made me go for it? Then I remembered it...
It was a cinnamon roll.
That's right. A gooey, calorie-dense, sweet, amazing, home made cinnamon roll. I'll explain. I was part of a Bible study at Advent Presbyterian (my son's old preschool) last year. Moms with preschoolers participated. I didn't want to do at first, but I liked the idea of getting to know some of the other moms. Between us we had 2 Catholics, 2 Church of Christers, an ex-Mormon, a Non-Denominational, and a Pastor's wife. We were all Christians, yes, but I liked that it was a little less homogenous that Bible Studies I'd participated in in the past. Anyway, in true Catholic form, one of the women had 5 daughters. Can you imagine it? 5 DAUGHTERS. Although she was raising 5 beautiful, thriving girls, she was always so raw, humble, real, and full of sage wisdom. She was a treat to be around. Anyway, in one of her past ventures, she had owned a bakery. Eventually it was too much for her to continue full-time, but she makes these cinnamon rolls. And these cinnamon rolls did not deserve to go away with her bakery. So every year at Christmas time apparently she whipped up pans and pans of these glorious pastries. They were sold to neighbors, friends, and anyone else who couldn't resist (which is no one). I believe the price tag was only $7 or $8 a pan. However, a according to my fabulous baker friend, she was able to supplement her family's income enough to pretty much finance Christmas.
Making the decision to be a stay at home mom was not one that I took lightly. We lost 1/3 of our household income, and the pace of our home changed completely. Although I honestly didn't struggle with the guilt of not bringing in any money like some women do, I'd sat with this feeling that I had something more to give. I was smart and capable. Although we were ok financially, when expenses (like Christmas) popped up, it was tougher than before. So I thought to myself, these cinnamon rolls finance Christmas for a family of 7....what could I do?
Pictures.
I didn't have a full frame, professional camera, but I had a decent one. Surely I could find people who wanted nice family photos, but didn't want to pay a fortune. So that's what I did. After a couple of days of thinking about it, panicking, doubting, and anticipating it, I put up a Facebook post with a few examples. And I paid for Christmas. Here are some of those Christmas card photos. Again they make me cringe a little inside, but I'm proud of those first photos for hire.
It started with a cinnamon roll. For reals.
I still have a lot to learn. I'm not trying to be dramatic and say that this lowly cinnamon roll inspired the next Annie Leibovitz. I'm saying that I now have business cards, an LLC, a "real" camera, a website, I pay taxes, and I've written a business plan. I'm not saying that every stay at home mom needs a business. I'm saying that you never know how you might inspire someone. What you do counts. Something seemingly unrelated to your friends secret dream could give them just the spark they need to get started. I'm saying that it took the sale of a pan of cinnamon rolls to give me the courage to take the small step to sell Christmas card photos. I couldn't' think about starting a photography business, but I could think about taking some photos for friends. I never in a million ga-zillion years thought I'd be a small business owner. But I've loved the feeling of having something that it my own. Of total creative license. Of freedom. Of learning something new every single day. Of making people happy.
Because of a cinnamon roll.
I'm a wife, Mom, photographer, daughter, sister, friend. I love good food, weightlifting, Crossfit, and exploring. I love talking about things as serious as faith and purpose and as silly as good TV. This blog is about my attempt to thrive in our world.
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