this little light of mine

  Okay, not mine really, but this beautiful boy was baptized Sunday, and I am lucky enough to be one of his godmothers. Me!

Who knew?

It was a wonderful day. Every minute of it. I felt so blessed to be included, not just in the day but as part of this wonderful family. The whole ceremony and service was so moving, really. A special way to kick off Father's Day.

I know that pretty soon this little man will be running rough and tumble with his brother and all the boys in the neighborhood, and I can't wait. But until then, you can't get more angelic than this.

weekend in pictures

drinks on Saturday...

brunch on Sunday.

the happiest days

...are the days that babies are born. I think that's a quote from Miss Melanie in Gone with the Wind. I'm too tired to go and look it up. Let me clarify. I did not have a baby. My friend Catherine did!

Many years ago, in another lifetime, I was a professional childbirth educator and doula. If you're not up to clicking on the link, doulas provide labor support services to couples during (and after) their birth experience. Neel and I had an amazing doula at Callum's birth (and an amazing birth, as well), and after that I was caught by the birthing bug. I like works in progress, and, let's face it, I like drama too. What can be more dramatic than the day that a little baby is born?

For various reasons, my life shifted away from labor support when we moved from California (where Callum was born), but I've been known to come out of retirement a time or two to do a brush-up childbirth class for some friends or stand by the side of a couple as their baby comes into the world.

Four years ago, when Tyler and Catherine had Elliot, they asked me to be with them for what turned out to be one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, and ever since then Catherine has said she wanted me "on the books" for when the time came around for the next one to arrive.

That time was yesterday.

Hello, Landon. Welcome to the world.

If you're not so into birth and birth stories, you may want to skip this part, but I'll be brief. I understood what Catherine (and Tyler too, really) felt, about needing me there, because I've felt it too. That, "I couldn't have done it without you feeling." But truly, she did all of the work. I was just there to show her what a wonderful job she was doing. If I can get soapboxey for just a moment, I'll say that while I have opinions about ways in which the labor process just "works," and maybe even works better, unless it's actually my birth, it's not my birth. I have no right to impose my judgment on how any woman chooses to experience her child's labor and birth. As a doula, my role was to advocate for you. To support you and to create a safe and nurturing, intimate environment for a couple to go through the process of birthing their baby. Catherine wanted as little intervention as possible in her labor, and my role was to support her in getting that.

She'd done it before with Elliot, and, with me there or not, I had no doubt that she could do it again. Of course she did. She and Tyler make an amazing team. He may want to crack a joke, but he knows not to, and he'd do anything for her. You can just see how proud he is of her. He should be. I am.

Many times I've grown close to my clients. Sometimes in situations that were too tragic to comprehend. Sometimes I was lucky enough to be at the births of friends' children. Those are the best. But this? This was extra special. Catherine is right next door to me, and we've grown very close, especially in the four years since Elliot's birth. Especially in the last weeks of this pregancy. She may have felt like she needed me to do this thing, but I was so honored to have been asked to be there. This may be the last baby I see come into the world in such a way. I can't imagine a better way to do it.

And that little guy? Not so little! 9 pounds, 13 oz. Mom had no meds. She's a rockstar.

getting our irish on

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day in the 'hood on Friday night. Aussie Paul made Irish Soda Bread, (and while the beef brisket was good, it's not so photogenic) and we had our first al fresco meal of the season on Tyler and Catherine's back patio. The kids rode bikes and kicked the soccer ball and we talked and laughed with the NCAA tournament on in the background (my bracket's totally busted, how about yours?). Guinness started the evening, but we finished up with cheese and dried fruit and Jameson under the stars and almost-super-full moon. It was a great start to the weekend and, I think, a harbinger of a great spring to come.

selma's

I think I mentioned that a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to take some photos in a gorgeous shop that is partly owned by a friend of mine. Yesterday I got even luckier and got to take some photos of the three gals who own Simply Selma's, and you'll see those here as soon as I have a chance to edit them.

I love still life photography. In a time that has been filled to the brim with relationships and capturing them with my camera, it was a breath of fresh air to take photos where I didn't have to worry about posing people or someone's eyes being closed or making someone laugh or even talking. I could be quiet and just take pictures. It was nice.

The store itself is a breath of fresh air too. That first day, when I went in to see my friend Marianne and nose around a bit, she gave me a complete tour, showing me all her favorite things. I tried to capture the details, but what I love about it are the layers of beautiful objects waiting to be discovered. Marianne talked about how they'll stand at the front of the store and figure out how the room will unfold for a customer. How a customer will walk through and experience each section, each surprising and delightful discovery. We're reading Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit for my photography class, and she talks about how when she's choreographing a dance piece, she pulls back. She moves so far that she becomes a "surrogate for the audience." If she could pull back further, she would.

Marianne's words struck me the same way. That's what they do at Selma's: choreograph a dance for their customers.

I hope you enjoy the photos I took, and if you're in the 757, stop in sometime. You won't regret it. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to walk out with my wallet intact each time I'm there. (Last time I just locked it in the trunk of my car!)