Genesis Ann

Mike and I have four children, three boys and one girl. Each of them are so special to our hearts but there is something so wonderfully different about having a girl.
Our daughter, Brooklyn, has long hair and it is wild and out of control. Last night before bed she was sitting with me on the couch and I was brushing out the knots so I could braid it before she fell asleep. Brooklyn has an uncanny ability to make me crazy. She is drama plus and sometimes demands more effort than our three boys combined. She has her great moments too - she is a great conversationalist and when I'm not feeling well she's the one who lays next to me in bed and sings me songs.
Brushing out her hair is a nightly routine, and on this particular night she uncharacteristically calm as I ran the brush through her hair. As I sat there brushing I began to think about a moment I had with my mom many years ago.
Before Mike and I got married I worked as a personal shopper in a call center and my shift began at 6 a.m. I was out the door every morning by 5 a.m. and the week before our wedding was no different. Early one morning while driving to work my cell phone rang and it was my mom. My heart dropped as I was sure there was something very wrong for my mom to be calling so early and it almost stopped when my mom spoke and it was obvious she was crying. Not just crying ... openly weeping. This put me into tears immediately and I barely choked out, "Mom. Mom...what's happened?"
Through choked sobs my mom said, "I was just laying here in bed thinking that you are getting married on Saturday. And I remembered - do you remember this? - you used to call the kitchen the chicken. And your bedroom. Honey, you called it your jebroom. Do you remember? And now you're getting married..." She trailed off as more tears overtook her.
I was relieved everything was fine but I found I still couldn't stop crying. It was a tender moment between my mom and me and I realized, possibly for the first time, the impact the vows I was about to make were going to have on my life.
I caused my parents a lot of heartache growing up, especially during the teen years. I'm so thankful that during that stressful week before the wedding she was remembering the wonderful things between us.
There's something about a wedding that makes people nostalgic. I imagine when you are a parent of the bride or groom your nostalgia must go into overdrive, as is evidenced my mother's early morning phone call. I think this is one reason Mike and I are so drawn to wedding photography. Each and every wedding we shoot takes us back to something about our wedding day. And remembering our wedding day together helps us to remember the overwhelming love we felt for each other on our wedding day. And remembering that love keeps stirring the fire that continues to burn in our hearts for each other.
As I brushed my daughter's hair, I was thankful for the moment between us. I was thankful for a moment that I can remember so when she is getting married, sometime much too soon I'm sure, I can make an early morning phone call and cry and say, "Remember when...?"