This is a candid photo my photographer snapped at our last family portrait session. We were all getting fidgety, having past bored and tired a half hour earlier. The girls were being silly while the photographer was rearranging something. Somehow, he turned at the exact moment to capture this magical exchange between my two girls. I fell head over heels in love with it the instant I saw it. I had two portraits done, one for each girl, and when I saw them I had one done for me too. I gave them to the girls yesterday for Valentine's day. I was soooo excited. I love coming up with interesting gifts and I was sure this was an absolute winner.
Victoria, my youngest, liked the portrait but was more excited with the itunes card I had enclosed also. Alex, on the other hand, absolutely hated the photo and wanted NOTHING to do with it. She thinks she looks awful and why in the world would I pick a photo with her eyes closed??? As she made her feelings clear, I began to tear up. I was taking this WAY too personally. I had invested more in this portrait than I was aware of. And I still continue to uncover more emotional nuggets the more I sit with the feelings.
To me this is a picture of my girls. My girls being silly and playful. My girls being young and innocent. But most poignantly, my girls being sisters. I love the way they get along when they get along. I love to hear them tease and banter. I love to hear them giggle and scream. I love to watch them do each others hair and makeup. I love to watch them trade clothes and fashion advice. I love to catch them whispering and conspiring. I love to watch them do almost anything. This portrait captured that feeling for me. The feeling of sisters. The good times and the love they have for each other.
I have a sister too. She is a year younger than I am and we were raised like twins. We are very, very different in many ways. When I feel the love my girls radiate in this photo, I wistfully yearn for this bond with my own sister. Sometimes I feel it, soft as a wisp of smoke, tying us together for a moment or two and then it just as suddenly disappears without a trace. I pray my girls never loose the magical bond they have now. I pray for the chance to forge this bond with my sister. We have so much in common if we can see past our differences. And most important...I love her.
Awww I like the pic a lot. Both girls are beautiful. Like a lot of really great things, I'm sure she will learn to cherish this photo as time goes along. :)
Posted by: lisa | February 15, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Hi Kathleen~
The portrait is absolutely stunning. The feeling & the energy that it captivated is breathtaking.
Yet even more so what you wrote about it. And your process thru this. It's beautiful to be a witness to your soul's journey. Thank you for all that you share. It is a gift to everyone that comes here.
As far as the emblem...what if you give me your e-mail address & I e-mail it to you...
Cyndee
Posted by: Cyndee Greene | February 15, 2009 at 10:57 AM
My parents too had a large portrait of my sisters and I that they loved and displayed on the living room wall, I so hated that picture when I was young, I thought I looked terrible! Today when I go home to visit, it is one of my favorite things to see in my childhood home, my sisters and I all together watching over my parents. Your daughters are just beautiful! As my sisters and I get older I cherish every memory we have of being together, and especially the time when that picture was taken. Thank you for sharing, this was a nice post it made me smile for you and me. ~Jacque
Posted by: Jacque | February 15, 2009 at 09:23 PM
What an amazing picture Kathy...I wish I had one of these with my mom.... how wonderful to have something like this to capture such a moment! By the way, they are absolutely beautiful young women, just like their mom :-)
Posted by: Jennifer White | February 16, 2009 at 02:03 AM
This is a stunning portrait, it will be appreciated in years to come, but for now it's enough that it's so dear to you. I have 2 daughters as well - Stephanie and Victoria. I don't have a sister and always wished that I had, but my heart is filled with my girls' sisterly love for one another and I love everything that being their mother brings to me.
I loved your post, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Best Wishes ;o)
Posted by: Dawn | February 16, 2009 at 08:40 AM
I too have two daughters. Over the years I have collected a few pictures of them! There are two of them that captures the essence of sisterhood. One when they were little girls and one where they are young women. I cherish both of these pictures, even though neither the girls or my husband see anything special in either of them. I do. I understand how you feel. I will post these two pics on my blog.
Cindy
Posted by: Cindy | February 16, 2009 at 11:53 AM
it is beautiful. i love the eyes closed.....isn't it funny that we can all see something different in the same exact thing. that happens often in my life too. and the biggest lesson of all......not to take things personal! how can something so simple be SO hard!
xoxo
thanks for sharing.
kim
Posted by: kim beller | February 16, 2009 at 11:53 AM
This photograph is magical to me...it is wonderful your girls have this bond and that they wll have it forever... it's okay that they don't like it, what it means to you is more important... Roxanne
Posted by: rivergardenstudio | February 19, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Incredibly beautiful photo!!! She will one day come to appreciate it, I am very sure.
Thanks for sharing - I have two daughters too, and now they are both mid teens, they get along really well, sharing things and time where they never did before. I understand totally where you are coming from - because I didnt have a sister, I love what they have together. Hopefully it will last a lifetime.
Posted by: Jen | February 19, 2009 at 11:50 PM