“With the Most Love Possible”
How does the love between parent and child evolve? As children mature, how is this love expressed? What does it look like to both those experiencing it and outsiders?
I remember as a young girl being dropped off at my mother’s home. The pattern was always the same, picked up from school on a Friday and back on a Sunday night. I would turn around, waving goodbye to my father as I walked through the threshold of my mother’s front door. It was conflicting; happy to return, but sad to be back. Embraced in my mother’s hug, I found it easy to slide back into the household dynamic, knowing I would see my father again soon.
During breaks from school, my father and I would take our customary road trip to somewhere in the country. It always varied from a family place in Colorado, visiting loved ones in Ohio, or wherever my dad had randomly thought of the week before. It never really was about the destination, but more about our shared love for the experience. I remember the smell of gas station coffee, the wind blowing through the rolled-down windows, and music that was always too loud. In those moments, I could see my father for who he truly was, carefree and at home on the road, a wanderer at heart. I imagine his ease that I experienced was possibly what had attracted my mother to him at one time. His good moods have always been infectious.
Saturday’s at home is where my mom and I solidified our bond. The smell of fresh laundry and loud sounds of my mom’s eclectic taste in music would permeate throughout the house. I would meander my way downstairs and find her to be waiting for the rest of us to wake up, to have some company. It was in this alone time we talked about everything under the sun. I’ve never felt any pressure or struggle to be around my mother, her aura always soothing and comforting. Outside the house, my mother usually had her guard up, keeping people at a distance. But here at home, these walls would fall. To this day, I realize how lucky I am to be one of those allowed to see that.
In these moments of closeness with my parents, I use photography to reflect upon and translate my feelings and experiences to share with someone else. In this photographic project, I hope to show the love I have found in these moments with my parents. Photographing my parents is a self-reflection process and provides an opportunity to examine the past, present, and future together. It’s through these collaborative times and discussions where I find the inspiration to create.
