Today is December 31st. From here, right at this very moment, the month of December has seemed impossibly long. It of course went by in a flash, but when I look over the sessions, the trips, the holidays... it just doesn't seem possible. How did all of this happen in my life in just 31 days? Part of that has to do with a magical place that shall be named later in another blog post.

Earlier this month or what seems like months ago, I had the pleasure of doing a family photo session for the Malarkey family. The only time this family could all get together in one frame was at 10 in the morning. If you know things about outdoor photography, that really isn't the best time to shoot, no matter what time of year. The light is hard. On me and you. Editing is a bit of a bear. But we were in a bind, I'm super new and a bit of donk, so I did it anyway.

I'm so glad that I did. This group was hilarious. They have what I call fantastic family flavor. Not all families have this. Trust me. They blended very well with each other. They rolled with the punches, and by punches, I mean deer poop. Lots of it on the battlefield. They had great ideas, and they were fun to be around. I loved every minute of it! Look at that face! 

I have these great neighbors. Sure, you probably think yours are pretty cool, too. But mine are better. So much better in fact, that when we first moved here in 2011, I won't lie, I was concerned. I was early pregnant at the time, and mortally tired. I had never lived anywhere in northern VA where people on the same street actually spoke to one another, let alone knew each other's first names. I'm native, by the way (Franklin Farm, Greenbriar, Fair Lakes, Centreville, Arlington, Haymarket, South Riding.) More: These people know their neighbor's kid's names, and who their best friends are. They know each other's kid's teachers and their after-school schedules. These people aren't just neighbors. Many are life-long friends. So bizzare, guys.

Beyond that, they cook for you when you're sick, or having a baby. Seriously, they show up with hot amazing food for you. At Christmas, cookies and gifts appear on your doorstep. They text message you on facebook when you accidentally leave your door wide open and your dogs escape and are running through the streets, and THEN they dog-hunt in groups to obtain and return the runaways. They host block parties for all the kids. They rent fifty foot water slides. I'm not kidding. These are some genuinely good people. And this is some in your face surburbia that I was not at all prepared for. I still can't keep up and I feel like I'm far better acquainted with these saints today than ever.

Sure, having Olivia, and then having her bond with the neighborhood kids definitely paved the way for me to get to know these guys better. I know who Benny belongs to, and Audrey and Gage, Ceci and Duncan, and I know the Gavins and the Clavellis have 100 children, at least, the younger ones are recognizable to me. But truly I got to know so many more families when I started taking pictures. It has really been the thing that helped me get to know the amazing group of people on my streets.

Part of this is because I struggle with small talk. I'm quite incapable of it, really. It goes against my nature to pretend to be or be feeling, anything small. I get that is awkward, so, I tend to shy away from social settings because when people ask me how I'm doing or how Olivia is, I tell them. She's a terrorist and I am drinking my way through it. How do you like staying home with Olivia? (see answer above). How do you like being back at work? I'm managing because, guilt. Right? So you see how it goes. When you're not best friends with someone, my responses seem, ok, they seem insane. I get that.

But when I have a camera around my neck, suddenly, I can disappear. I shift the focus to someone else. I can answer questions about taking pictures that won't shock anyone or set me apart from them. I can hardly offend anyone with my response that it's a Nikon D610. (well, most anyone.) And I love it here.

It's kind of my way of saying, hey, I like you, in a way that I could probably never communicate superficially. And I'd love to give something back. Something I think you'll actually like and treasure. There were some neighbors I'd planned to have sessions with, but schedules, the weather - it didn't work out. I really hope to see those faces in the spring. The short of this (which turned into something incredibly long) is that when I was approached by two of my neighbors for a quick Christmas card photo in November, I jumped at the chance. 

I may have mentioned before that I'm way, way behind. Disney + Holidays crushed my schedule. I'm leaving in three minutes for the Winter Concert at Liv's school. Right. So!