So, after chronicling the memories of Mamaw, and sharing our love for The Notebook, I will now close this whole long story with my favorite love story.
Several years ago, my dear friend and photographer Sherry Thomas came to drop off her son and daughter for piano lessons. She noticed the hatrack in the corner of our piano room with a collection of my grandparents' hats and a fur jacket. She knew I was a sucker for romanticism already, and with those props just waiting to be used, she suggested that just perhaps James and I would be willing to do a styled shoot for her to photograph. She said generally the girls are willing to dress up and be a bit creative, but it's hard to find a guy that will do so. I told her I would ask but was pretty positive James would agree. When she then said her idea was to do a "The Notebook" inspired shoot, I may have squealed/cried/exclaimed with delight. So, I asked James, who quickly agreed, and we figured we would do it soon.
Life has a way of flying by, and it did, two years in fact. We tried to schedule more than once, and things just.kept.happening. It was never convenient at all. Dressing up and having a photo shoot seemed so frivolous and fun, and goodness knows, parents of four don't have much opportunity for THAT! :-) Eventually, we talked and said we would do the shoot that next fall if it killed us. We started choosing vintage clothing, we had a meeting with a hair and make up artist friend, and the anticipation built!!
Then my Mamaw's health suddenly deteriorated, and I really wasn't sure I could go through with it. She was so much tied up in the idea to me, even if the props we would use belonged to other family members. When she passed away on October 26, I was horribly sad and overwhelmed. However, due to the shock of it, and how I have already described that hard season, I struggled with actually expressing that grief. There were some bitter regrets that we hadn't made time to finish this idea before she was gone. I finally decided that it was better to move on with the shoot than have more regrets later. Sherry and James and I decided finally to set a date, and go ahead with plans a few weeks later, because it just seemed the right thing to do, and Mamaw would have loved it.
We finally did it. The day and weather and details were magical; I had 8 hours of spending time with the one I love the most in the world, being silly and romantic, and documenting our love for our kids to have tangible evidence of our 20 year long relationship since the fall we had first met. Everything went well, in spite of crazy things like how we miscalculated the time that our local state park closed. Thankfully, a last minute request of a friend enabled us to get access to water and a small boat and we made the last scene work. If you're familiar with "The Notebook," you'll understand how I felt at this last location, when I saw in the distance on the lake a few white birds that could've been swans. It was almost more than I could bear. When we were done at last, the tears came, and it was a precious close to a day unlike any other.
The photos turned out wonderfully and Sherry made it so much fun. More importantly, I know that we shared that gift of a day, savoring every moment even more than normal, because we had a recent reminder of how fleeting life can be. I know Mamaw would be so pleased at how God has given us the best love story, and I will forever be grateful for these images that are visible reminders of the man I love and how wonderful our imperfect life is together.
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