kiss the groom

i’ve always been fascinated by the way people blend…two people fall in love & create a little life…this sweet little person is a physical manifestation of love…we look for pieces we recognize…he has your “smile”…she has your “ears”…but really they’re an unimaginably perfect blend…years ago when i was pregnant with my first child, “the blessing project” was born….all children are blends…

but i’ve been particularly interested in how beautiful children from parents with different ethnic backgrounds blend…the sweet union of differences is amazing…so much beauty….and i think there is something powerful about a new born life looking up at two different faces & loving them the same…not knowing any difference….only learning later in life that there was a difference to begin with….

there was a moment when my four year old daughter looked up at me & asked me, “mama, if i scratch my skin….do i look like you underneath?”…my heart dropped to my stomach & i looked at her sweet face….i realized my answer was both yes & no…her brown skin would always be hers…just as my fair skin was mine….yet if you scratched either of us, we would bleed….we are, as all humans are…utterly & in the most important ways, simply the same….we love…we bleed…we dream…we are….

as i continue to photograph the blessing project…i do humbly & aware that there is much i do not & will not ever understand about the world…but one thing i know for sure, children are blessings….

xoxo