Home is a place that is sacred. It is a place that is warm, loving and safe. It holds our memories and a thousand stories.
Sometimes it is a castle with unicorns and princesses; other times its jungle or a haven for dinosaurs. No matter what its size or what lies within its walls home is a place that our children cherish.
Three storms (March 2010 nor’easter, Irene and Sandy), three years in a row left my family displaced without a home to feel protected in. The first two times were trying to say the least. The last one, Sandy, awakened my soul in significant ways.
As we go on living our daily lives from just outside the reach of our home and neighborhood; I strive every day to show my children more than ever that home truly is where the heart is. I now hold a quiet new understanding that as children, home holds such a vast importance.
As a photographer and a mom, and if you have been following my first couple of blog posts, you know as well that I find a huge significance in ordinary moments and the details that define our children. Sandy re-kindled a mission for me…my goal for this new year is to truly document the spaces in-between the big moments in our lives. The spaces that hold so many of our memories.
Saturday morning breakfasts with messy bed hair, soft cozy pajamas and little feet dangling off the chair. Their favorite hiding spot under the table, where you just can’t seem to find them, as they hold back giggles watching you try.
Tiny footsteps running down the hall after a ball they know they are not supposed to kick in the house but couldn’t resist. The moments in front of the refrigerator at night, because when you announce bed time everyone always gets hungry or thirsty. The finger prints on the glass door as they peer outside dreaming of what lies down those roads. The chair they drag across the kitchen to reach that box of cookies they know is up there somewhere.
All those in-between moments that exist every day in your home today and in your heart tomorrow. These are the photographs I want you to have.
These are the photographs that one day when the house is all too quiet and there are no more finger prints to clean will bring back the story of our lives, of our home of one of the most precious times in the world. And when our grown children need that moment of calm in their organized chaotic lives…we can take our grandchildren on our knee and share with them a story of such a magical time.
Capture all that makes your home sacred and the in between spaces that fill your heart up the most. Or find someone you connect with and trust to come into your home and capture them for you!
If you are still displaced from Sandy, I know photographs of this time might be the last thing on your mind, but take them anyway. Show your little troopers how strong and resilient they are. Life still goes on and those in between moments happen every day.
After all, what they say is true and our children need to believe...home IS where the heart is.
- Amanda diMonda is a lifestyle child photographer based out of Wantagh that specializes in children portraiture from newborn up to age 10 whose theme is "capturing the essence of childhood naturally." For more information, visit www.dimondaphotography.com.
