Life on the Homefront: Priorities

A couple of weeks ago I told my husband I wanted to start blogging again. By the look on his face I could tell he thought I was out of my mind. "Don't you have enough going on?" he says. "When are you going to fit in blogging between raising the kids, our family time, running a photography business, selling AdvoCare, leading the FRG…." the list went on. I thought about what he said. All those things he mentioned PLUS paying bills, cleaning house, making meals, taking the kids to and from their activities, working out, finding quiet time to read a page or two from a book, Facebook /Pinterest {trying to keep it real, here}, keeping up with extended family, etc. I quickly realized he was right. I have a lot on my plate. We didn't talk much more about it that night but for days the conversation ran through my mind. I had a bit of an ah-ha moment and realized if I'm at a point in my life where I don't have time for the little things in life I personally want to do for myself and my family {blog, get a pedicure, pillow fights, etc} then maybe I need to lower a few other things on the priority list. It was a hard realization…

That brings me to my photography business. I love photography. My passion for it began the day I met my husband. I wanted every moment of our love frozen in time. I wanted every date captured and turned into something I could develop and physically hold in my hand and hang up on my walls. Then came our engagement, our wedding, and his commissioning into the Army. We knew in a matter of time he'd be sent to war. And then it happened. 15 months into our marriage he went to Iraq. Photos of our lives together are what got me through that first deployment. They gave me something tangible to hold on to and to remember. The few photos of him I received while deployed we're like gold. I treasured them. They showed me our time apart was for a purpose and that he was, in fact, making a difference and serving others. Fast forward a bit later… He returned from war and within two months we found out we were pregnant with Gavin. My passion for photography quadrupled. I wanted every second of his life documented. For the first two years of his life, I think I did document just about every other second. I blogged almost every day of his life. You see, Jason returned to war THREE more times after Gavin was born. Jason watched his son grow up his first two years through photographs. See why photography holds such a special place in my heart? Fast forward a bit more… we found out we were pregnant with Stella, had her, moved from Savannah to Benning to Drum (did two moves at Drum), and all of a sudden got crazy busy. Life picked up and we ran with it. He took on more responsibility at work and I took on two work from home jobs and a FRG. Those little special family moments slowly diminished. We put the kids to bed and my work began. Quality time suffered. My late nights editing led to a tired mommy in the morning. Tired mommy = no fun mommy. The busier our lives got, the less I took the time to enjoy and document family time.

That brings me back to our conversation on the couch weeks ago and my realization. I decided its time I make other peoples photos less of a priority and my families more. I will still do occasional sessions for others (especially through Photos for Soldiers, a program I volunteer with to provide free photos to military families preparing for a deployment or homecoming), but right now my #1 priority is about using that time to capture and document my family life together. To freeze the memories.We are now gearing up for deployment #5. This blog is my commitment to better documenting our lives. My way to fill the "emotional bank" with deposits to look back on when I need to walk down memory lane.

When Jason heads overseas in a few short months I don't want him to miss out on what goes on back at home… Smith Life on the Homefront. This is my way of capturing and sharing it with him.

You may notice my small quote up top "She who waits, also serves…" That quote came across my news feed the week I was having this ah-ha moment. It confirmed the reasoning to me that even the woman beside the soldier, the one often waiting (waiting for them to get off work, waiting for them to return from training, waiting for a deployment homecoming, etc…) also serves. Life doesn't stop just because a service member is away.

It must go on.

My service is to my family and to fellow army wives and their families. I hope through this blog I am able to bring that service to life and encourage others to do the same.