The Light from Below
A few days ago, Alexis and I headed to our favorite playground for an hour or so of fun. After about fifty-teen zillion pushes on the swing, my arms grew weary so I asked Alexis if she wanted to go for a hike. It took some convincing, but I finally managed to get her to follow me to the wooded area nearby.
We headed deeper into the woods, and Alexis began to enjoy the exploration more and more. As she carefully navigated some stones so her glittery shoes wouldn't get wet as she crossed a creek, a group of high school-aged girls came from the opposite direction. Their nervous laughter and complaints about the terrain made me realize something: Alexis may be ALL girl at times, what with the princess obsession, need to wear glittery shoes with sundresses everyday, and her general love of all things GIRL, but she does have a good balance of tomboy going on. She wasn't complaining at all about the leaves smacking her in the face, the huge cut on her foot from a branch, or how hard it was to climb in a couple of spots. In fact, she was loving it. A lot.
We continued on, me walking behind her and enjoying the juxtaposition of girlie girl and tomboy that stumbled before me. Alexis was far too busy pointing out all the great sights to bother with staying on the path, and before long, we found ourselves in the middle of a clearing. A dense canopy of trees made it seem as if the sun had already began its descent, but a few small openings in the foliage helped the sun to paint perfectly shaped spotlights here and there.
Alexis stepped directly into one of the solar spotlights, and I asked her to turn around for a second. She stopped her excited explorations long enough for me to capture this:
Other than converting it to black and white, I made no edits to that photo. The light was that perfect. The expression on Alexis' face defies the reality of the moment. It was a moment filled with giggles and smiles and general goofiness, but no matter. For that one nanosecond, she stood in the light with a somber, sad expression on her face. I assume that flash of sad was there because I dared to ask her to pause for a moment.
A threat to tickle her fixed the sad right up:
Looking at this picture now, I realize something. It wasn't that the light was falling perfectly from the sky above. Rather, the light emanated from the eyes below me. Those eyes are the light of my life, the brightest, most vivid, most beautiful light I have ever found in this world.
She is my perfect light.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Reader Comments (26)
Beautiful. The post, the subject and the writer. Beautiful.
Perfect light, perfect subject
Beautiful post. It's how I feel about my daughter. The photos are perfect!
Wow. Just wow. Perfect - every single aspect of this post. Perfect. Thank you!
I have tears in my eyes after reading this. Absolutely amazing.
Before I read the last paragraph I was thinking "Her eyes are STUNNING".
Have you heard the song by Martina McBride "In My Daughter's Eyes"? If not, you should. I don't normally like country music, but it is really touching.
The photos are perfect. And your prose is just as nice. :)
That b&w is reminiscent of Dorothea Lange. Beautiful and poignant. Of course I love the second one because how could you not grin back at that joy? Great shots both.
I think this is your sweetest post yet. Alexis is darn lucky to have such a great mom. :)
Oh wow!! That second photo is just so very perfect, I love the colouring in her eyes, I hope you're going to frame it!
Sweet post. I tried to zoom in on her eyes - I think they might be just like my son's. He has green eyes, but there is a ring around each pupil that is brown. I couldn't tell, but I thought I could see that little ring around her pupils, too. :-)
Perfect lights. Just perfect!
@3carnations--Her eyes are green around the pupil with blue ring around the green. Very odd, but very cool.
Awwww! Such a sweet tribute. You gave me goofy-gumps! (Er, that would be "Goose bumps" to every one outside the family.)
Love this. The picture is captivating, Professionally worty. The story is so sweet, and I enjoyed it very much. I think theres such a sweet connection between mommies and thier daughters. I have that same relationship with mine. Thank you for sharing this sweet intimate moment.
Oh...SO beautiful! The story and the pictures, both.
I was just admiring those pictures on Flickr. Amazing. And even more so hearing you write about it.
Oh, I love this. So much.
Also, are her eyes green? Really? I swore they were blue. Am I hallucinating? If they are green, perhaps we need to stop the fixing up with BB and go with LB (also green eyed like FireDad). If they're blue, she can marry either one. Okay? Okay.
I love your mothering, your writing and your photography. You are an inspiration.
Also, this makes me want to take BB on a big long Farm hike this weekend. Yes, I think I will.
One of those "happy accidents" that just happens! I love those! Thanks for stopping by, I'm glad you did. Just read the post about the dance class and the moms you had to deal with! I think we could be sisters.
Pure sweetness. : )
Awesome post and photos.
My little guy is my light too...and a lot of strength for me. I thank God for him every day.
(And congrats, btw, on the Penquins win!)
OK so now you managed to make me cry. Beautiful pictures (award winning really), beautiful post. Beautiful girl.
Awesome!! I wish I could ever catch those moments on film, they are just hanging on like sticky notes to my fragile brain.
Damnit - I always get lame, too-bright light for my outdoor photos. I'm so jealous.
gorgeous. just gorgeous.
Holy perfect.