Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season was filled with good cheer and that you’re feeling optimistic about this new year! Before I dive into the beauty of routines, I wanted to share some of 2024.
Business wise we really kicked butt when it came to sending emails and consistent posting on IG, at least better than in the past. So I’m celebrating that win! 🎉 And if you missed the reels capturing the sessions I was so grateful to be apart of in 2024 you can see them here:
Personally, I created a vision board for my desktop in 2024 that was so helpful in staying with my goals. It looks like this ⤵️(and you can get the customizable template here for this year!):
Honestly, this was a game changer. To be completely transparent, I am so proud of myself for having no late cc payments this year. And believe me, I am celebrating that one!
#MOMLIFE this year could be described as being on a rollercoaster. Having a teenage son, a pre-teen daughter, and a nine year old son means that they each need a different version of Mom on the daily. And as often as I may have felt like I’ve failed, I also am proud of myself for being able to show up as who they needed.
One area that I did fail in, but is exactly why I am talking about the beauty of routines, is prioritizing what’s important for me. I walked Murph (our lab) so consistently, but I often used his walk as a way to avoid my own personal workout. So here’s to creating a routine that prioritizes what’s important to me in 2025!
Which brings me back to the beauty of routines…
Inevitably, with all the reflecting I start sketching out ideas and plans for the year ahead, but also remembering where I started. Back in 2010, everything was exciting and future-oriented… like a new relationship, I felt the fire of my creativity and couldn’t go 6 hours without picking up my camera.
These days, work often feels more like – well – work: more routine, less glitz and glamour. But I’ve also been in business long enough to appreciate that the routine is where the true work gets done – the sparks of creativity that have truly caught fire have happened in the midst of just showing up and doing the work: taking the photos, editing the galleries, and writing the emails… imperfectly but consistently.
In most cases, they were less spark and more glowing ember that I took the time to examine.
And when I think about it, that same truth is reflected in my photos, too. I’m happy to capture the most important events in life, but it’s often the small details or those little elements of the everyday that make my photos feel the most personal.
The way a mom zips up her daughter’s dress, the moment I catch the bride going over her wedding vows, the first look between a father and daughter or the look on both their faces during the father daughter dance. Even in family photo sessions it’s the tiny details – the little hand holding onto a parent’s finger, or the toothless smile.
We all want those perfectly posed moments, but I think in 2025 we need to embrace the peace of the ordinary, the routine, the process.
So here’s to a year of finding the beauty of routines, in the everyday and celebrating the journey, not just the destination.
xoxox,
Brooke
