. . . past, present, and future . . .

I have a friend – an amazing friend – one of those friends that you imagine spending your whole life with. We joke about how one day, when we are old and gray, we will sit on the front porch and talk about the people that walk past us. We like to analyze people together. Is that person a Lion or Retriever? Do they live in the future or in the past? We like to analyze ourselves. We talk about our history and how it shapes who we are. We talk about nature versus nurture. We try to find answers to those people who hoard things or smile all the time. We try and figure out why that woman is always scowling or why that man doesn’t ever ask for help.

We talk about how different we are – and how we are so much the same.

These conversations are sometimes serious, and sometimes we laugh . . . a lot. When there is a chance,though, to reflect on behavior, it is helpful to understanding. And understanding is one of the keys to knowing.

I am someone that lives in the present – a lot. The past is helpful to learn from, but I don’t live in that place . . . dwelling on things that have come and gone. I love to dream about the future, but again, because the future is not where my mind lives most of the time, it is hard for me to make the best decisions. I find myself living for the now – how do I feel now? what do I want now?

A couple of weeks ago, I took some engagement pictures of a friend and her fiancé. We had so much fun . . . or at least I know I did. They were so easy to get a long with! They were so excited to be together – excited for their future. They laughed a lot. Smiled a lot. Cuddled and kissed a lot. Their love for one another was freeing to watch and to be a part of.

Freeing.

Sometimes – if I separate myself from the pictures I take for a day, a week, a month – when I come back to them, they speak to me. The images remind me of how I was feeling when I was taking them – they tell me a story.

That is my favorite part of photography.

Aeric and Maren have this amazing story.

Everyone has an amazing story.

What makes my heart beat a little faster, though, is when I can see my story in theirs.

These images remind me of a time in life when I used to get butterflies in my stomach when Stefan would hold my hand.

These images remind me of a time in life when money and houses and jobs were not what we fought about . . . but what we dreamt about.

These images remind me of a time when the excitement of being in love was the driving force behind everything we did.

These images make me think about the present.

They make me think about the things that are important to me right now.

They make me think about my husband, my children, my family, friends, my love for them . . . right now.

They make me think about this amazing story that we have created – this journey that we have been on, and how it has brought us . . . HERE . . . to this place.

Right now.