Week 4 | Project 52: A Part of Me

Hi there! I know I'm late posting this for this challenge, but for a good reason. You see, I struggled big time with this prompt this time. I think when you go a project like this, you want this amazing image to be so striking and glorious and it's full of pressure. Sounds silly since this is for fun and learning to shoot less but more (yes, that makes total sense) in a year. As any type of creative individual, there is immense pressure to create something amazing each and every time you pick up your camera, paintbrush, pen, "insert-tool-of-choice-here" that it it sometimes too much!

I had the perfect image I had wanted to capture for this prompt because it would have been true for something that is a part of me. But I didn't. Why? I simply ran out of time to capture it for this week. And why didn't I have time to take just this ONE simple photo? You see, because I was preparing to spend the weekend with someone important. My oldest. We don't get much alone time just he and I, to do fun things and connect with each other. Life is a constant hustle. School. Housework. Day-to-day tasks. Sibling. Pets. Spouse. Cub Scouts.

We had a weekend camping trip to a cabin with his fellow Webelos (1 and 2) and their parents. My husband and I decided that I would go on the next camping trip, and I went. :)

So what I did this past weekend was my spend time with him. A. PART. OF. ME. And I did something that took a LOT out of me...I brought my camera with us, but I didn't pick it up. I wanted to be THERE in the moment. Not behind the camera. I captured some images with my iPhone, nothing to be noted as amazing or great photography, but it was in the moment, quick snapshots of our weekend. But I was there.

Here we are on our hike that we took with the group. I don't typically post photos
of myself, let alone sans makeup, but it wasn't about me. It was about him. About us.

We took a hike.

We made a knife pouch together.

I watched him help his fellow Scouts made the parents breakfast Saturday morning. Seeing the proud look on his face was enough joy for the entire day.

He taught me (along with about 5 other people!) how to play chess. And I won.

We played Scrabble.

We bonded.

And I realized, he was my prompt. He is a part of me. A BIG part of me.

I was the only mom there, and while I felt a bit out of place at first, I realized I was right where I should be - with him.