Sounds so cliche sometimes doesn't it? Not to an 11 year old girl. Coming from the mind of a PANDAS child maybe?...or simply the mind of a child...I repeatedly get asked the same question over and over (and over), "Mommy, why didn't you follow your dream?"
The first couple of times I was surprised by the question wondering what made her think I had not. When challenged with this she states how her step dad went to school for 'computers' and that's what he does, her aunt went to school to be a nurse and that's what she does, and so on. "But you," she says "went to school for photography and work for a bank. Doesn't that make you sad?"
Finding the words to express how discovering myself pregnant at 22 while in an abusive relationship resulted in an independent and determined young single mother who needed a reliable job she could get based on experience rather than academics and talent...was not easy. By now I have it pretty much summed up..."I am living my dream - I was given the best job in the world when you were born. I love being your mom and that could never make me sad."
This will make her smile briefly, soon to be followed by a concerned look I know so well. I promise her I will still take pictures and find a way to show them to the world - even if I don't get paid for it - and the smile returns. I love that she cares but it breaks my heart that my daughter adds more worry to her life based on what I have done (or failed to do) with my own. I decided to use this space to share some of my photography and make my daughter proud!
**I have added a New Photography Tab for a page dedicated to this.**
