Need a reason to document a day in your life?? I've got FIVE good ones for you today and I bet you will be charging your cameras and cleaning off your memory cards in about 2 seconds flat if you make it all the way to the end of this post!
If you've been wanting to record a day in the life, now is the time! I've captured and recorded a single day for the past five years along with Ali Edwards (and on my own a few times) and the photos and memories are some of my very favorite. But the pictures....oh.my.gosh. They make me cry the ugly cry every.single.time. As much as I would like to think I remember everything, I just don't. Waaahh. I hate it, but it's true. We just can't remember it all, so thank heavens for cameras and notes and the stuff of life.
1. Life goes so quickly.
Oh man does it ever. You know the saying "the days are long, but the years are short"? So very true. It feels like just yesterday my son was in his crib sucking on his 400 pacifiers. Now he's in kindergarten + I have a second grader. Life just moves to fast and you kind of have to record it to keep up. The things you think you'll remember this year will soon be replaced with memories from next year and the after that and so on. Taking a moment to record the here and now is incredibly priceless. Just scroll back through your photos and you'll see what I mean.
2. You can view your world from a different perspective.
Fun fact. At least once a day I yell and scream at my kids under my breath (obviously...I'm not THAT mean). Yep… At least once a day. Spilled milk, skidmarks in underwear, and messes everywhere are enough to make me batty most days. Looking at your life through the lens, however, gives you a new perspective on things. It gives you a minute just sit back, observe, and laugh about these moments that will soon be long gone and long forgotten. I'm not saying that it's any less obnoxious when that second glass of milk spills on the floor, but at least my camera gives me a reason to enjoy that moment and record it!
3. You become a part of the picture.
If you're snap happy like me, you are usually behind the camera, not in front of it. I'll be the first one to raise my hand and admit that I don't like being in front of the camera. I feel awkward and weird and ugh... it's just bad. But I know that my kids could care less, and down the road these will be the photos we all cherish, so I make a conscious effort to stick my happy face in some photos every once in a while. Use a project like this to make it happen. These are great opportunities for us to remember to let our hair down and get crazy with our kids.
4. Things stay the same, but different at the same time.
It always surprises me every year I complete this project that many things stayed the same, but with a new life. Anna has been an avid book lover since she was a teeny, tiny, cute, little, skinny baby. Her love for books has never changed. Every year I take part in this project I snap a picture of Anna reading some type of book. I love how that one aspect of our lives has stayed the same, but has evolved in so many different ways. This project is a great way to celebrate those little things of life. The things that are the same. The things that make us who we are.
5. You create a time capsule of your story.
Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone. Good, bad, ugly, silly… You have a story to tell! So tell it. Grab your camera, snap away, and document the memories of your days. Then do it again the next year! I promise you won't regret it. Ever ever ever.
looking for more tips + inspiration?
