Personal

Gratitude

I’m sitting here enjoying yet another morning on the porch with my coffee looking at the ocean thinking how grateful I am that we get to do this. And it’s not a gratitude that has me needing to thank someone for providing it. It’s a gratitude for the life we have built that allows us to do this. 

Henny and I first started dreaming about this over the winter. Making a big summer change. Our kids have been on the swim team for 4 years and have loved it. The pool is our summer family. Hell, I’m even on the Board. But we couldn’t let it go. Knowing that the older they get, the busier their summers will be. He’s a baseball dude, she’s a lacrosse lover and they both really enjoy swim.  So our opportunities to drop off are numbered, for certain. 

So we researched and it was daunting. The money was bigger than we were prepared for but I couldn’t stop wanting it. Determined to make this a reality, I told Henny that I would pay for it. Now, there’s no “I” in our marriage or in how we manage our money. But I said that I would work for the money to pay for this time away. It would come straight from the Kelly Hennigan Photography bank account. And it did.

Through months of some lull in the pipeline (happens every year) to the months spent working through the pain from a herniated disk and a stress fracture in my hip. My doctor, and dear friend Trina, got very tired of hearing me say “you have to heal me. I have work I can’t miss.” And no matter how badly I felt, I didn’t miss any of it. Because I had a goal.

So…I’m grateful. For the life we have built. For the hard work that has paid off. And for the people who have trusted me to capture the images for their businesses and the memories for the families. Because without them, I wouldn’t be able to make these memories for mine.

Sunkissed and Stargazing

“Do you think the stars are out yet, Daddy?” When I heard those words, I knew we’d done the right thing coming here for so long. Sunkissed faces, outside showers and pajamas on the deck for dog play and stargazing. I couldn’t want more out of this summer getaway.  

I haven’t used a blow dryer or a stitch of makeup since we arrived Saturday afternoon. It’s liberating. Ponytails and trucker hats are all that is needed. We’ve spent long days on the beach, until the lifeguards are gone and boogie boarding can be done anywhere. We’ve walked to Nickelby’s for donuts and coffee in the morning and to Scoops for ice cream at night. And there is lot of chatting, Dude Perfect and DIY videos, Ipad games and the occasional outburst of laughter from their respective spots in their bunk bed room.

The surf lesson on Sunday from Avalon Surf Camp in preparation for their upcoming camp week was a success. My little parkour buddy used all of his training and ridiculous core strength to pop up and ride his very first wave and the many that followed. Can’t wait to see what they do in camp.

And we’ve only just begun.

I’m not stupid. I know not everyday will be bliss and the kids will fight and we’ll all get tired and cranky. But I know, for certain, that tired and cranky here at the beach, beats tired and cranky at home every time.

I just read a perfectly timed article about how our kids are overscheduled and need time for free play. Well kids, free play away…

Going Away for Awhile

I can’t believe I have not posted since last October. Or I guess I can, given that I just wasn’t ready to write anything down for awhile. So I’m excited to be back on the blog and hope to be making more visits. Work has been wonderful and I’ve been busy doing what I love and giving everything else I have to my family. But I’m happy to come back to my other passion. 

Like the words in a Brett Eldredge song, “I’m going away for awhile. But I’ll come back with a smile.” I’m leaving with one too. My family and I are dropping out for awhile this summer. We are putting the brakes on what is typically a fast paced summer full of swim and dive team practices and meets, me being on the Board at the Swim Club, tournament lacrosse, baseball and sports camps. We need it, we want it and we’re taking it.

The time between last summer and this summer was challenging for all of us. I have been dealing with multiple muscle and bone injuries that I’m still working through with a fair amount of pain. Casey battled migraines and all of the anxiety and treatments that accompanied those. She was brave through it all and gratefully, she’s done very well since a chiropractic adjustment to her neck. And Henny and I spent a lot of time working closely with Ryan to help him cope with anxieties and worries that were way too big for a 7 year old. And I’m thrilled to say that right now, he’s thriving. He’s happier and lighter and much less fearful. Safe to say he’s crushing his 8 year-old life. Stronger and more resilient than I ever imagined possible. 

While in the middle of a lot of that crap, we decided that the four of us needed to be just the four of us. Fast forward to the end of June, when we will head out on a month+ away at the beach. Just us. Henny will do a lot of back and forth from the office and I will work down there when I’m able, with a few beach shoots already on the books. We have room for visitors and will happily welcome them. But I am really looking forward to long, lazy mornings and days that turn to nights on the beach. Bike rides to get donuts and ice cream and introducing our puppy to the sand and salt water. Nights spent reading books (and enjoying a few cocktails) on the deck and doing puzzles at the kitchen table. The kids are going to do a surf camp and I hope they love every minute of doing something Mom and Dad cannot teach them. 

I hope to absorb and suck up every minute of this time away and I want all of us to remember every bit of it. So, I’m going to do my best to document it with my camera and write about it here on the blog. I’m not stupid. I know that it won’t all be roses. Raising two kids will never be that and we’ll have our moments. But those are part of it, too. To expect anything different is setting dangerous expectations. I also know they will only have each other. And often when that’s the case, they genuinely enjoy each other. They will sleep in bunk beds in the same room, as they’ve always done when we are away from our home. I anticipate lots of giggles before bed and a definite night visitor in our room from time to time. And I will do my best to enjoy all of it. 

“We will miss you,” has come up a lot from our great friends and neighbors and I know I will miss them too. But this is likely the last chance we’ll have to do something like this before the kids’ summer schedules get crazier and they are pulled in various directions. So for now, I’m pulling them in tight and I’m not letting go for a wonderfully long summer as Just Us. 

Getting Personal

It was a really great summer. Professionally, but mostly, personally. Lots of great family and friend time. Laughs, vacations and visits. And lots of time to reflect on the amazing people in my life. My daughter has been on my mind a lot this summer and, per usual, I’ve written it down.

You see, we have this son. His name is Ryan. And I’ll make no apologies for saying that he’s cute. Straight up adorable. People stop me on the street to let me know.  It’s always been that way. He’s funny, kind and a great conversationalist at the ripe old age of 6. He’s infectious. If you’ve met him, you know what I mean.

AND we also have this amazing daughter. Her name is Casey and she’s a few weeks shy of 9. For as long as she’s been aware, she’s seen everyone she knows fawn over how cute her brother is. How you could “just eat him up.” From teachers and adult friends of ours to teenagers and even her own peer group.

Henny and I are not at all oblivious to the fact that although extremely beautiful and wonderful in every way possible, she’s older and people are likely going to be making a fuss over him for a long time. This is not to say people don’t ever fuss over her. They do. But Ryan tends to garner a little more attention. It is what it is. And one of the things that make her so unbelievably amazing is that she seems to have accepted it for what it is. She’s poised, elegant, funny, happy and possesses a level of grace probably rather rare for her age.

I’ve seen all of this for a while now but was never quite sure when she would truly understand what I felt I needed to say to her. That time just came. She and I walked hand in hand to the store to get some things while on our beach vacation in August. I told her that I was very aware of what a big deal people make about Ryan. She nodded in understanding.  I then proceeded to tell her about all of the wonderful things people say directly to Henny and I about what a lovely young lady she is becoming. And although she did love hearing that, I most wanted her to know what I, personally, felt and what I see everyday.

Casey has experienced a lot over the last few years. Unfortunately girl “BS” starts at a very young age and continues. For. A. Long. Time. We’ve had a lot of tough conversations about what she is experiencing, what she can expect and how she ought to handle herself in certain situations. She listens and truly makes an effort to see these situations with empathy and a clear understanding that very rarely, if at all, are they about her. She tries very hard, even when it hurts, to follow the Golden Rule.

And then this summer we made the move from one swim club to another. Both kids loved the previous pool but were excited to join the new one and to be on a new swim team with so many people they already knew. But it was still a change and she had to navigate relationships that had existed long before she came along. Not always easy but most certainly worth it. And they both had a great summer.

That day when we walked together at the shore, I made it very clear that her father and I, and so many others, are in awe of the manner in which she conducts herself. I told her she’s genuine, elegant, intelligent and an absolute joy to be around. She beamed with such pride and I knew it had been the perfect time for this mother/daughter chat.

Daughters are tough for their moms because we want to shield them from every difficult thing we went through and we want to scream at the top of our lungs when we cannot do that. But what we can do is provide them the tools to handle themselves with grace, build them up when their confidence needs a boost, and hold them when it hurts. Casey may not have the same type of fuss made about her as her cutie-pie little bro, but I feel confident she knows that she’s every bit as amazing. And we will do our best to make sure she’s reminded often.

 

 

A Much Needed Space: We Rock The Spectrum, Annapolis

I am typically not at a loss for words. EVER. But for the past two weeks, I have been hitting a wall while writing this post in my head. Maybe it’s because it’s so personal to me. Maybe it’s because I have a case of writer’s block. Probably a bit of both. But I’m now convinced it’s that I’m so in awe of what Courtney and Billy Cahill (my brother and sister-in-law), and so many wonderful other’s I’ve met recently, have done, that I truly cannot find the words.

A few week’s ago, they opened We Rock the Spectrum, Annapolis. WRTS is a kid’s gym designed to provide a fun, nurturing and safe sensory experience, not only for kids across the autism spectrum, but all kids. Started just a couple of years ago on the West Coast, it is quickly making its way across the country. The Annapolis location is the first of its kind in Maryland. My family and I had the pleasure of being there for it’s grand opening a few weeks ago and to say I was wowed is an understatement.

I’ve always known that Courtney was capable of great, impactful things, even when I’m not sure she knew it herself. But seeing, first hand, what she has undertaken and the pride she has in giving back to a community of people that has so impacted her life, is truly a thing of beauty. An occupational therapy assistant, Courtney has worked with children on the autism spectrum throughout her career. I’m not sure I’ve met anyone as well suited for it as she. What has me even more in awe is that, as WRTS owners, they are one of very few across the franchise that do not have a child on the spectrum. The significance of that is not lost on most people. But for Courtney and Billy and their two awesome sons, Liam and Brennan, it’s much simpler. There was a big need and a gaping hole for a community of people that is extremely important to them. And who better to fill that hole. There’s so much room in their hearts and it’s amazing to watch them make space for so many wonderful people.

I am so proud to tell people about WRTS and even prouder to talk about Courtney and Billy. I captured as much of the joy and spirit of the grand opening day as I was able but to truly grasp it, you’d have to visit. WRTS’s are opening all over the country so keep your eyes out. And if you should find yourself in Annapolis, Maryland, look em up. http://www.werockthespectrumkidsgym.com/annapolis/

 

 

SEEN ENOUGH?