If you read my blog, or follow my facebook or instagram feeds, you will no doubt know that I have just spent 6 glorious weeks holidaying in Europe with my family.
This journey has been a long time in the planning. Too long in fact. But 2013 was the year to absolutely make it happen. Our eldest daughter Ruby is now in Year 9, and growing into a beautiful young and independent lady, with her own mind, and zest for adventure. In other words, her wings are already starting to spread beyond her immediate family.
Travelling is something my husband and I have always loved, but somewhere along the journey, the adventures seemed to stop, and realities of raising three children kicked in. It became too expensive and too hard. I think we have all experienced this.
Then, my gorgeous friend Margaret died of a brain tumour. She was my age. She had three children the same age as my children. It scared me. It was a reality check. One of the things that I loved so much about Margaret was that she never left things till tomorrow, that could be done today. She filled her life with meaningful things, and if she wanted something, she absolutely made it happen. It was a gift. Who knows where all of that energy came from, but one thing for sure is that I wanted to take just a little of that energy, and run with it.
It was from this time onwards, the journeys and adventures started flowing back into our lives. Our goal of course is to achieve at least one family holiday a year, but the reality is MUCH better than that.
So where am I going with this!!!!!!
Well, whilst I/we have made some wonderful changes in our lives, my bid for living in the now still has a long way to go. You will see a few of our journeys here on my blog, but there is someone always missing from the story. You guessed it, that person is me.
It’s a curious thing isn’t it, because here I am, a professional photographer, expecting others to jump in front of the camera, and yet I can’t do it myself. But you see, I’m 46 years old now, and on the downhill slide to 50, and that, my friends, is hard to say out loud. Actually, the truth be known, there is always an excuse for me not to be in front of the camera, always has been. And then I try to convince my clients that YES, they do need a photo of themselves, if not for you, for your children.
The time has come. My now is here to stay. This is ME. This time, I wasn’t just happy with a photographer, I wanted a videographer to capture our adventure. With video, I can’t hide. I can see myself from every angle, and there is no photo-shop trickery to help me out.
So here I am (and my crazy family of course), through the eyes of the magic of Xanthe Berkley Photos and Film.
I have this quote on my “About Me” Page:-
“In twenty years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.” Mary Schmich
Well, I am seeing that beautiful 46 year old woman now, and not in 20 years time. WITHOUT self criticism.
There is no time to waste.
THE GEERING/FREER FAMILY from xanthe berkeley on Vimeo.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Miss Xanthe. This is such a beautiful gift you have given my family.