I'm always filled with mixed feelings at the end of Summer break.
I miss my kids terribly and it's always a little hard for me to realize that they spend more waking hours in a day with their teachers than with me,
but at the same time I love the return to consistent routine and schedule.
When looking back at the passage of time,
I am often filled with a strong desire to freeze a moment so that I can fully take it in.
Every expression, every sound, every feeling seems so fleeting and I feel like I need a few minutes to soak it all in and fully appreciate experiences.
That is one reason I love photography so much.
It enables me to freeze time--at least the visual aspect--so that I can revisit those moments again and again and feel those same feelings.
Like this day at the splash pad.
In looking back, I can carefully study my son's facial expression as it is frozen in tremendous excitement, or see the beautiful way the water droplets tumble over a boy, indefinitely suspended in orderly chaos.
I tend to have a one-track mind and I'm not very good at multi-tasking.
So capturing these individual moments in time makes it possible for me to more fully relish it all in hindsight.
And that makes the passage of time a little more bearable for this sentimental mama.