When I officially started my photography business in 2004, it was meant to be just a fun little hobby job...to keep me busy while transitioning to being a stay-at-home Mom. I never dared to dream that in the next six years it would grow and expand to what it is today. The momentum snowballed and I have been scrambling to keep up. Many people have commented to me over the past few years, "I don't know how you do it all...how do you keep up?" The answer is, I'm NOT. A lot of areas of my personal life have suffered to meet the demands of my growing business...my family, my friends, and my spiritual and physical well being. I've admitted this before and I've vowed many times to slow down and reprioritize, which I've managed to accomplish on a small scale. But as much as I try, there's one thing about me that I can't change. I'm an all or nothing girl. I know this isn't entirely a bad quality...it's part of what has made me the artist that I am...I push the limits and exceed my own goals. But there is a bad part about it...it means that photography will never be a 9-5 job for me...it's a 24/7/365 job. It has become so big that sometimes I think it overshadows who I am as a person and the worst part is I've become comfortable hiding behind it and using it as an excuse.
In the Old Testament, God told the children of Israel that every seven years they were to let their fields rest. Every 49 years (7x7) they were instructed to release all debts and slaves, and basically push the big "reset" button on life. It was called the year of Jubilee. I've always liked the concept of the year of Jubilee and God's connection to the number 7...it intrigues me. And so I'm going to claim next year as my own personal year of Jubliee. I've never been JUST a Mom and I think that's something I need to experience. I'm returning everything to the way it was and giving my fields a rest. I'm going to focus on revitalizing the health and wellness of my family. Most of all, I'm going to do some spiritual cleansing and healing.
Because accepting weddings a year in advance involves meetings and engagement sessions, I will most likely be booking a very limited number of weddings for 2012 (that's the current plan), but I won't be taking interviews or appointments until Fall of 2011. I want my time off to be as complete and uninterrupted as possible so I'm actually going to be disassembling my home office and turning it into living space. :)
I've already had a lot of great feedback and encouragement on this decision and I hope that you, as my friends, family and clients, will support me and celebrate with me. It was an excruciatingly difficult decison to come to, so PLEASE don't beg me to change my mind or try to convince me to make an exception. :) Thank you all for everything you've meant to me this first six years...I can't even put it into words as I think of each person I've photographed...I just adore every one of you! I have the best clients in the world...because you're more than just clients, you're friends.
Looking forward to finishing THIS year with a BANG! Stay tuned... ;)
