no one else

it’s hard to sit with blankness.
we try so very hard to fill empty space with something, anything. we’re so uncomfortable with silence, uncertainty, not-knowing, awkwardness.
 
and then there are people who don’t feel that. who have some “deeper meaning” thing about life completely DOWN, and always seem comfortable in their own skin with plenty of that to share, and you can’t help but hope it rubs off on you.
 
sam is one of those people.
 
a march-to-the-beat-of-your-own-wildly-fabulous-drum woman. she exudes confidence, but not in a yucky way that makes you feel lesser. a way that makes you feel included.
and she’s probably snorting reading this right now, because probably those people who have that kind of air have no idea they’ve got it.
something else: she’s an ALL IN person. That kind of present-ness, in love with life and ready to jump from the cliffs her heart takes her off but not in a careless way, just a way that inspires you to say more YES to the life you’ve got.
 
i can say all these things about sam, and they’ll tell you things about hero and goldie too. because as much as our little ones are their very own, there’s no denying that all the things we are rub off on them lightning quick. i’ll be real–i get scared about this a lot. i get bogged down under that weighty responsibility of being The Person my babies take their cues from. it’s something nobody ever told me about motherhood: you’ll feel how important it is to get it right while seeing how royally you’re getting it wrong.
 
but people like sam teach me: we do the best, the very best we can. we give ourselves grace. we sink into the knowledge that we are the mothers our children need and no one else.
 
no one else.

Brooke Schultz is a Southern California (Laguna, OC to be exact) based family + wedding photographer who adores the ocean, writing, being non-sensically soulful and chocolate chip cookies that are just a liiitle underbaked. And hi hey hellllooo if you are a rad loving family in need of non-cheesy family photos she’d love to photograph you with your favorite peeps. See more family session details here, or contact me and let’s make it happen.