See Everything Babygirl



I have two daughters. My 17 year old is Sydney. Her mom and I are divorced and they live in Texas. I rarely see Sydney: Christmas and Summer is considered rarely in my opinion but those are my divorce decree sanctions. From her birth until the divorce after her 7th birthday, Sydney and I were inseparable. I took her to daycare every morning. I took her to the park after daycare. I took her to get her treat of "sweet chicken" every Friday - Panda Express orange chicken. I rarely socialized and was content being home with my baby girl. Not having photos of our experiences is a void. The void can be consuming because Sydney is my sanity. She is my hero yet I have precious few articles to remember my first baby girl. 

My 2nd baby girl is Skyler. She's a 2-year-old precious ball of fire created when I fell hard for her Dominican mother. As with Sydney, I take Skyler almost everywhere. We take 2 to 3 hour walks to sight see in our city of New Orleans. This time I have a camera. This time I have hundreds of Skyler memories captured that I share with Sydney. Maybe the walks and photos fill a void but I enjoy our moments together tremendously. Sometimes the Skyler walks are nostalgic wishes for the toddler Sydney. Most times I just wish Sydney was with us more. Sydney adores her sister. Sydney is some sort of academic superstar who told me she will not let her sister be stupid. She didn't speak in those terms and tone to be pompous. She spoke to assure me my 1st baby girl will always cover my 2nd baby girl.


I consider myself a photographer. I love the hustle to achieve this new "career" goal. I mostly love the social interaction in capturing freedom moments. Those are the moments when people are completely themselves. No editing needed. I also love that I'm now keenly aware of my city of New Orleans. Landscapes, parks, trees, manhole covers are all examples of everyday neglect. Most of us don't notice the things we see everyday. I didn't see the art of New Orleans. Sharing these experiences with my daughters is contentment. Content is the condition that trumps happiness. Skyler would be so content on our walks that she would fall asleep. Now she sings, talk and point.


I've seen the beyond-her-years expressions when we walk. She's unable to verbalize those expressions but her face tells. Her gestures tell. She enjoys music. She enjoys the musicians. She taps her feet or she will just stare in amazement. I think Doreen Ketchens put a spell on my daughter. Skyler applauded Doreen. My eyes watered as Doreen held her heart in thanks. 

*FYI - please see Doreen. She's likely to be on Royal St during the day. Her tween age daughter is an amazing drummer.* 

In the pursuit of wanting Skyler to see everything, she's taken a few tumbles in her stroller. In wanting to get a photo, I sometimes forget to lock the wheels on her stroller. One minute I'm focused, the next I'm apologizing and holding baby girl because she was frightened - trapped in a sideways stroller. Skyler is already so passionate that her wails reach my soul. For an instant, I'm in more pain than my baby girl. But, we're off. The next corner has a yellow shotgun house with orange trim and blue storm shudders. With tears still in her eyes, she points and says "yellow."


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