HELLO, internet friends!! It’s been almost two years since checking in last. I promise I’m alive and well and still photographing beautiful humans, I’m just doing it quietly. A lot has changed about my life in the last couple of years, and while that’s a story for another day, I want to try and dust off this space a little bit. Writing will always be my first love, so here are a few notes about what I’ve been up to along with some favorite snapshots that this corner of the web hasn’t seen before.
MOTHERHOOD
It’s my favorite job around. Toddlers are a hoot and I thoroughly enjoy watching my son grow into his own personality. He’s curious and sweet and can be very spicy. Three is harder than two, but it’s all a lot of fun. He played tee-ball last fall and it was hysterical to watch the littles run around aimlessly.
PHOTOGRAPHY
I’ve scaled back significantly on the number of weddings I take each year and I’m at a really good spot. I get to pour my best efforts into the couples I’m serving, and my priority is always delivering photos to them vs. juggling that with marketing and expanding. It feels like I’ve hit my niche with the couples I’m booking which is great. I genuinely love the people I get to work with!
TEACHING
I’ve transitioned to teaching high schoolers and honestly I love it. It’s a different pace than college, but I get to know the students so much better and I really enjoy being part of campus life. I helped some of my students start a chapter of Best Buddies at our school, and I help out with hosting the Special Olympics – both things near and dear to my heart!
TRAVEL
I spent spring break last year in Paris with my best friend and we had the time of our lives. We ate excellent food, drank delicious wine, learned how to make French pastries, and walked all over the city. My mom came with me to a conference in Calgary and Banff last summer, where we hiked our hearts out! I’ve also made a few trips out to California to spend time with my friends there and I’ve worn a familiar path between Charlotte and Baltimore, of course. My next travels are taking me & the little boy out to Cali again for a visit to Disneyland and San Diego! Plus a lot of trips to Tennessee are in my future so I can get some quality time with my niece – who’s due to be born any day now.
SOUTH CAROLINA
I miss Baltimore so fiercely sometimes. Especially when all I want is a girl’s night at Clavel. But there’s been so much benefit to living closer to family and it’s also nice that I moved back to a familiar place. I get a slightly fresh start since no one here knows adult Kaitlin, but I also have some familiar faces around town. I’m still on the hunt for a decent margarita, though!
LOSS
In the last year, I’ve lost my stepdad and my grandfather. Grief is this big weird thing that I carry with me – the elephant that’s always in the room. The loss of my marriage and my son’s nuclear family unit in 2022 is an added layer that gets tangled with the rest of my sadness. It’s just… a lot. My therapist says I’m “shockingly well-adjusted” and it makes me laugh because I didn’t realize there was ever an option to be anything except okay. So I’m okay. I’m learning and growing in this tricky period of time, and sometimes I’m still grieving too.
This stage of life has been bittersweet. Some bitter losses and pivots. And a lot of sweetness in between. Thanks for hanging in there, friends! I’ll try to post more often for ya.
xoxo
