July 2014 ~ 10 on 10 | A Personal Project

Strawberry picking is a summer-start tradition for my family. I’ve gone every summer, to a number of different berry patches, for as long as I can remember (thank you, Mom). I love everything about it: the pleasing little ‘pop’ sound when you pick a perfectly ripe berry, all that happy sampling, sweet juice running down our chins, homeward-bound with topped up baskets, hands and knees stained red, and trophy berries, rogues shaped like hearts, guns, bums, and old men with weird beards. And so I’ve carried on the tradition with my own and they look forward to it every summer. The fact is, they were practically born in the berry patch. No kidding. It’s in their genetics.

The day before I went into labour with my first baby, Mat and I went strawberry picking. “But you’re so eh-vy,” my grandma tut-tutted. “So much bending! You should be resting! Pauvre Laura.” She was right, of course. But I wasn’t due for a couple of weeks yet. I didn’t want to buy a ready-picked basket. I wanted to pick them from the patch with the sun on my back and the satisfaction of discovering each shiny berry myself. I refused to break tradition and miss one summer.

The contractions started in the wee morning hours the next day. I got up and made pastry dough. That afternoon, between the pains growing ever closer together, I prepared berries for the filling and rolled out the crust. I read the labour/delivery chapters in What to Expect While You’re Expecting while the pie baked (could this be real labour?). We headed to the hospital, leaving behind a pie cooling on the kitchen counter and the whole world before. Anna Leigh, our beautiful baby girl, was born exactly two weeks early on June 27th at 4:16 in the morning. We marveled over her every perfect feature, fumbled completely, and ate pie. Every year, the smell of strawberries in the sun returns me to the incredible day that I became a mama, thirteen years ago. I could never have imagined a life so sweet.

1. Strawberry Girl 2. 11 months 3. Rookie 4. Happy Pickers 5. Sweet Seven 6. Dragon Obsessed 7. First Dip 8. Just for Looks 9. Beautiful 10. Heaven

The 10 on 10 project is a personal photography project where I capture 10 images on the 10th of each month. With an incredible group of photographers from around the globe, the goal is to share a glimpse of life. Each fresh month is a reminder to pick up the camera and document daily moments with the freedom to create candid imagery. As always, I love to hear from you so feel free to leave me a comment. Thank you for visiting. Enjoy the rest of the circle starting with Kylie Dunlop’s 10 on 10.