Sisters

Today I had one of the best moments of my life as a photographer and a mother thus far. I got to watch my two little girls be sisters. When Noel, our oldest, was born I thought that life couldn't get better. I loved taking her picture and documenting her growth. Already with our newest addition, Norah, I have felt less of the same zeal for the "every month" photo, and most of my thoughts and ideas for pictures have been pushed aside due to fatigue and lack of time....until today.

Today, the sun was out, the air was hot, we didn't have a car and so I opened the blinds in our bedroom and got to shooting. There is one shot I have wanted to get since Norah was born six weeks ago and until today, I have just set it aside.

It is a shot of both of the girls' feet as they lay next to each other on the bed.

But I had no idea the other gems that I would get in the time. To watch my oldest sitting with her younger sister, stroking her hair and resting her head against her in her version of a "hug" was the sweetest thing I have ever witnessed.

I grew up with an older brother, and going into high school it was my older brother who took me under his wing and helped me make friends and gave me confidence. So when we had children of our own, I always imagined we would have a son first so that he could protect his younger siblings, just like mine did for me.

But we had Noel. And heaven knows, she has been one of the best blessings in my life, but when we found out we were pregnant with Norah, I spent a great deal of time wondering how she would take to a new baby around the house. Would she be jealous? Dramatic? All the things I feared in having a girl - would she be like me? Selfish?

Well, it's safe to say that she is most of those things. She's two. But so much more than that, she is gentle, kind, sensitive and she is a big sister. The best big sister Norah could have.

Noel's first words in the morning, before she even lifts her head off the mattress are, "Good morning, sister!" She always wants to read her books and pet her head. She wants to take care of her, even now, when Norah can't do anything to pay her back and there is no reward for it.

But for Noel there is. Being close to her little sister. And that was what I photographed. Sisters. For any photographer it would have been a sweet moment. But for me as their mother, it was sweeter than anything else. I could have a million more moments like this and I still wouldn't have enough. You never think you could love any human being so much, and then you have kids....