preparing for the big day

Well, I hoped to be out of my Christmas funk by now but something just still isn't right. And I am trying to put my finger on it.

At some point during a new and exciting time in our lives, we become comfortable. We feel we have figured it all out and we continue smoothly at a slow, if not steady, comfortable pace. We meet someone and fall in love, and after a year or so, we become comfortable and at ease. The passion settles down, and yet we choose to continue on loving this person, finding that a pleasant union and the predictability of the relationship is really what has bloomed . . . and that the passion was a seed. There are plenty of seeds on this earth, and not nearly as many flowers. I am thinking of my husband today, traveling home from Oregon in time to spend my 29th birthday with me tomorrow, and am so grateful for his devotion. He is the kindest, most supportive man I know.

When I embarked on this business almost a year ago, there was so much I didn't know. In fact, some people judged me for starting a business with such little knowledge. Technically and business-wise. I had an eye for the moment, as they say, but that's about it. But I had an incredible drive, and an amazing support system. I spent hours upon hours reading everything I could get my hands on, both physical and digital. I subscribed to blogs, magazines, and gave Amazon.com more money than they knew what to do with. Well, not really. I bought the best lenses. I had about a thousand a-ha! moments, yet I still haven't made it into the pages of Oprah's magazine. I have so much to learn, yet I feel this past year was filled with such a passion for this industry that I now have this beautiful flower I'm not quite sure what to do with next. We've settled into a comfort zone, my business and I.

I know without an ounce of hesitation that 2009 is going to be absolutely incredible - filled with success, growth, and continued improvement. Amazing photographs . . . elated clients. I think I feel a little weepy today more because this year is over. I'm a little attached to 2008. And to end each year with a birthday makes me all the more motivated to make the next year better than any other year. I'm a year older, a year wiser, and I always wake up on New Year's Day thinking, wow, this is a brand new beginning . . . I better not screw it up.

The two most memorable things anyone has ever told me were told to me this year. Well, my mom has been saying this one for a while. I knew when I named you Morgan that you'd do something special with your life. And this past summer, while relaxing at Carrie and Dave's camp on Lake Champlain just a few short days after their beautiful wedding, Carrie's mom, Penny, said, in the midst of talking about her daughter's new marriage and the rest of us girls complaining about our sometimes less-than-exciting partnerships, that being married is about falling in love over, and over, and over again. I couldn't agree more.

This might be one of my most personal blog posts yet, but that is what this is about for me. I wanted to document this life-changing year in such a way that when I go back and read each post, I will suddenly recall everything I was feeling when I put those words on my computer screen. When I am suddenly taken back to that evening, a few short hours after photographing people in love. It is an emotional and incredible experience to begin a new business, but it's even more incredible when your job is to deliver people memories that will be hung on the walls of their home, telling the story of their family. To all of my clients, I am so grateful to you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this truly one of the most amazing years of my life. And to my family, friends, and complete random strangers who take the time to read this blog, follow my work, and acknowledge my success, I am forever grateful.

Much love and happiness to you all!