PHOTO A DAY | DAY 40 | THE END

I had in the back of my mind when I started this project that forty days sounded like a nice, rounded, do-able length of time. But I also considered ending on the kids’ first day back at school (well, first day ever for Alicia-Rae), not having actually counted the days and realising that the two coincided. Even this morning I had no real intention of making this day the last, it just kind of ended up that way.
I think the crux of it was turning up to kinder with Jaedon, with every intention of capturing a moment to represent this particular day in his life, but not really feeling like my heart was in it. I just wanted to hang back and be a part of it, instead of being intent on recording it. I did take a few photos which do in fact capture a moment, and they are a record of his day, but I was disappointed because they weren’t like the images I had painted in my mind. And for a few moments that took away from the pleasure of just being there, of being part of the process of my baby boy growing up. And that was not what I wanted this project to be about. So I deliberately put my camera away, and took part instead of pictures.

After kinder was done we headed over to check out the progression on our house build. The builders were nowhere to be seen (I’m resisting the urge to add my thoughts about this) so the kids and I had a bit of a wander around and, of course, I got the camera out. This time I was simply snapping for fun. The kids and I were being silly on the swings, there was exploration of the house to be done, and just plain good fun to be had. So I snapped away as we went. And then it occured to me that this was exactly how and where this project started, forty days ago. It felt like we’d come full circle in a sense, and I knew this is where I wanted it to end. No sadness, no sense of relief – just a lot of thankfulness for the last 40 days.  I have got some absolutely wonderful memories of our summer together – a good deal of them printed out and stuck to the wall above my monitor.  They make me smile as I look back and remember the moments they were taken. And that is what I did want this project to be about.

Over the next couple of days I might put together a slideshow of all the images.  I think it would be great fun to see them all in one spot.
But for now, here are today’s images. The last official ones of our summer project. 

And there’s no particular reason why I chose this photograph as the final one, apart from it feeling like the last one. And I like it.

Narrelle x