On the left, that’s Anna – She’s 12
On the right, this is me – I’m not 12
Anna is my daughter, and that would make me her mom.
I’m a photographer, I love to be outside, in nature, and witnessing what goes on around us.
Anna, well, I don’t know what Anna is yet – I suppose that’s because she is still figuring that out on her own.
Together, we are about to set off on an adventure. A mother and daughter road trip, covering 5,000 miles and a dozen states. As her mom, this is a chance to hold onto a childhood that is fleeting while trying to plant a seed with the potential to grow her into the beautiful human adult I know she can be.
She is right there, right on the edge, one foot lingering in kid-land while she dips her other toes into the waters of womanhood. I see this as a chance to show her a world beyond tiny handheld screens, beyond cover girls, body image, the internet, boys and the shallowness that is, in essence, puberty. I want her to know what ancient dirt smells like in the Redwoods, what the sea air feels like when it blows off the waves and hits your face. When she closes her eyes, I want her to be able to really know how grand that canyon really is.
Although, I know what roads we will most likely take, and where we will park the camper each night, I have no idea what is in store for us, except that I suspect we won’t be the same people when we come back. Separately, she’ll be a young lady with an unforgettable life experience on her back, and I will be a woman who conquered the journey. Together we will hopefully have a new understanding of each other. We’ll learn things about each other, and our mother/daughter bond will likely be forever changed. I look forward to carrying inside jokes with us, I look forward to the stories we’ll tell when we get home and years from now saying “remember that one time…”. But most of all, I am looking forward to showing her this world. I’m excited to learn what lights her up, what scares her and what makes her smile.
Our journey will be public, and we invite everyone to travel with us as we go. We will blog, vlog and check in as often as we can and where the wi-fi gods will allow. In the end, the potential is a book, with great photos and epic adventures that can live on and inspire long after we’ve pulled back into our very own driveway.
Maybe its all silly, but it all feels very huge to me. Epic even. I’m excited for our story to unfold and excited to share it with you as we go. So, please, consider this your invitation. Picture yourself as our dashboard hula girl, a button pinned to the ceiling of the truck, a sticker slapped on the tailgate or maybe even the pesky fly we can’t quite convince to go out the window and come along… We’ve got some stuff to see.