Before a photo shoot,
I hear this voice inside my head.

Megan Barella, who do you think you are? Having pictures taken of yourself like this?!

Buuuuuuut I want to
I say to myself 
like a little kid
Hard to explain
So I toss my hair back 
Just do it anyways

I've always loved photography
And angles in pictures
Ever since I was a little girl
My mom had her 35 mm camera
It was like treasure

I remember my first camera
How exciting it was to get to 24 exposures
Drop it off at the drug store
See what magic I got back
I've always loved pictures
Memories still alive
Beyond time

Then there was that stage
Ages 9 to 11 of little me
When I wanted to work in the fashion industry
Or be a human rights lawyer

That princess,  girly part of me I stuffed away 
Primadonna, as my mom would say
Girly me always felt a little frivolous
Even back then

Then I went through it
The ringer of life
Relationship ended
Mom cancer
Dad died
All my childhood stuff
Somehow 
Put me smack dab back into me
This body I call home
And I liked her

I remembered
The power of photography 
It's in the transformation
For photography
Gets me to where I want to be

It's a practice 
Radical self-acceptance
Because the second thought 
Right after 
Who do you think you are?

What if you don't like the way you look?

But it's the way you look
I say to me
That's that

Why I do photo shoots
And you can too
It's humbling
Centering
Capture today
Move you into tomorrow
Because beauty is soul-deep
Everyone's got their own  
Body to call home
Imperfections make us real
Photography  
Art of power
To capture the moment
And create our reality



     
                                                                         ************************
Special, special thanks to Rachel Hardiashar: Photographer of Creative People who is tres talented with her camera and a blast to work with.  And she is intelligent, witty & funny to boot. I am still smiling from our time together. Thanks for making me feel so professional, Rachel. 
Portland creative people, I highly recommend Rachel's photography work.  Find Rachel on Facebook here.

I met Steph sophmore year. 1996 at Ithaca College. Steph is just one of those people you love from the moment you meet her. Me, Steph, and the girls on our floor, we laughed. A lot.  Ate dinner together most nights. Played in the beauty of Ithaca, NY. Became grown-ups in each other's presence. And then we went our separate ways. 

Until Facebook brought us back together a few years ago. When I caught back up with Steph, she was married. And then she was pregnant. And in a Facebook blink of an eye, she was announcing the birth of her sweet baby boy, Nicholas. 

Steph shared the story of Nicholas, learning that her newborn had Down's syndrome, and calling on her community for support, good thoughts, and prayers as in her words, "we navigate down a road that we have never traveled before."  To share her story, Steph and I connected 20 years after we first met over the phone, just like it was yesterday. 

Megan: "What do you love about your family?"

Steph:  I just love the fact that we are a unit, the three of us. All the decisions we make in our lives are focused around what is best for our little unit. My sister-in-law gave us that advice long ago: you have to do what is best for you & Nick. Other things will have to wait, you have to put your own little family first.

We truly enjoy each other's company. We love to take walks as a family. I love that we can all hang out together and we enjoy it. Doesn't have to be anything planned, or a vacation. It can be as simple as going to a diner for pancakes on Sunday morning. Or Nick making pancakes at home.

Nick and I adore our sweet son. He brings us more joy than we could ever ask for. Nicholas has this little laugh that just makes you laugh along with him for no reason, infectious. He also gives the best hugs; He wraps his arms around your neck and rests his head on your shoulder kinda hugs. Then you know all is right in the world.

It sometimes can take Nicholas longer to learn a skill or to figure out just how to do something. But when he finally "gets it" that feeling of pride is awesome.

We get so much enjoyment out of being parents. But after Nicholas’ bedtime, we definitely have our time together. So often parents either complain about being parents, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, they feel guilty if they take grown-up time to be together.

Megan:  And that truly is the best gift parents can give their children. For the couple's love to be strong; for them to enjoy time with one another.

Steph: It started so early on in our relationship. We do a ton of communication, but we don’t over-analyze.  Like when Nicholas wasn’t walking yet. We problem-solved, got everything out on the table, and then we decided what we were going to do. 

I love my husband more as time progresses. 
We don’t hide anything from each other.

I used to be more of the one who was so open, or so quick to express how was feeling about things. He was more of the listener. 

But now that Nicholas is getting older, he is experiencing a lot of significant delays that begin to weigh on you as a parents. Like wondering if there is something I could be doing better. 

Now Nick and I are both very open about our feelings and concerns, especially with Nicholas. we can share, but there is also that validation that, "hey, I am going through it too." We confirm what we are both feeling, and we both need that sounding board.

Megan: How has parenting a child with special needs impacted your relationship?

Steph: Most important is acceptance. My mom told me a story. I was born with a cleft palate. 
My parents went to a support group. They met parents who separated because one parent accepted it, and the other couldn’t. One parent can’t accept the reality, then the other parent is left fighting the battle alone.

Nicholas’ birth was bitter sweet. We were so excited, planning, and then it was like someone took that moment from us. I remember lying in the hospital bed with Nick, and we just cried. Experiencing the loss of what we thought would be for our child. 

But, honestly we do the same thing everybody else does. Our daily agenda is the same as any families. Nicholas goes to early childhood special education preschool and sees a few more doctors than just his pediatrician, but other than that our life is just like everyone else’s. I am not going to shelter him. He plays with other children, only one of his friends also has Down’s syndrome. And that’s mostly I want to talk to his mom because we think the same about a lot of issues. That our child has Down’s syndrome doesn’t rule our lives, it’s just another thing on the agenda.

Megan: Do you worry about Nicholas’ future?

Steph: I have stepped out of the worry zone of what the future will hold. Because none of us know what will happen in the future. If I looked at Nicholas and felt bad for him because I thought his life is going to be hard, well he may have this wonderful future ahead of him. I can’t worry about something I have no control over. It took a while to get to that.

Megan: Do you feel like you’re there now?

Steph: I really do. How I emotionally try to deal with things is day by day and week by week. I changed my mind-set on many things. Having a child with Down's syndrome puts things in perspective. I don’t have the energy to gossip or dwell on the negative, or listen to drama that people bring on themselves. I don’t have time for negativity. I focus on the positive aspect of things, it brings me peace.

Megan: What are the biggest challenges you currently face?

Steph: Not letting Nicholas' struggles consume us. It's really easy to sink into sadness. For example, he's three and he's not talking right now. But I have to look over the last 8 months, and see how far he has come. It's about focusing on the little accomplishments.

Megan: What widsom would you share- with all parents- but especially parents of children with special needs?

Steph: Take it week by week and day by day. Don't over-think and try not to think too far in the future. Don't get wrapped up in too much thought. Enjoy the moment. Just because your child may have special needs, your life is still normal. You can give them every experience you would give your child. 
Our family functions well because we are supported by so many people.Lean on the person or people you are going through the journey with.  The feeling that you are not alone adds to the ease of moving through life. Communication and honesty are so important.
 
Megan: Do you feel like Nicholas brought you that gift?

Steph: I think it’s having a child, becoming a parent. Sometimes the fact that he has Down’s syndrome does have an effect. It’s like, “please, that’s what you’re going to complain about.”

The more I work with + learn more from parents, the more I notice one thing.
The positive parenting communication tools are wonderful + transformative.
But these communication tools must have something to rest on.

It is our inner state of mind & heart that matter most in parenting,                                                                                                                            and in life.

I LOVE the positive parenting tools. 
Some days they keep me thriving as a parent. 
Other days they just keep me sane. 

On those thriving days, me & my son are connected in the most positive, awesome way. 
We laugh, we flow, we understand & respect each other.
We have fun together, all while he is learning how to be a positive human being. 
My stress exists. But I rule it; it doesn't rule me.
Those are good days.




And on those harder days, 
the surviving days, my stress levels---
as a single mama-grad student-business owner, who works a most amazing Education for Life day job, and wants to make the world a better place + is a childhood trauma survivor
---are too high.

On those days, 
when it feels like the stress is in charge of me, the tools most usually keep me cool.                                                                                                                       
On those days, 
I hold on to the communication tools 
for dear life
as they keep me from yelling at my son                     or flipping my lid (aka losing it).




I am most thankful for the positive parenting communication tools on both kinds of days. 
The tools help me have more of the thriving kind of days.
They  transform misbehavior, prevent misbehavior, and raise respectful children who feel confident to live their gifts to make this world a better place.

And yet, I know some amazing parents 
who don’t necessarily speak the language of positive parenting, 
but who are most certainly positive parents. 

I see positive parenting communication tools as the beautiful grass and flowers 
our children spend their days in. 
But, the flowers in your backyard might look different than the flowers in mine, 
just as you may speak differently to your child than I do. 
Regardless of the type of flowers,
all flowers need roots & soil to grow in.


And what exactly are the roots & the soil our parenting grows in? 

The roots of parenting,  
are our own hearts & minds,
and the strength & love we find there.

Positive parenting is based on how we nurture the strength and love in our own heart & mind. 
For some of us, this may be buried treasure. 
But we all have it.
Here's to connecting to the strength & love within our hearts + mind. 
In our own unique way, we build a positive parenting foundation from the inside out. 

Trust in you. 

xo,
Megan

I used to think Mother's Day was a hallmark holiday.
I'd always call my mom. 
Gave her a few gifts in my younger years. 
A card here & there.
I'd always tell her I loved her. 
Let her know I was thankful for her.

Then I became a mom.
Its changes everything 
that becoming a mother.
Maybe selfishly, celebrating mother's days became more important & meaningful. 
Or maybe, the light went. 
I got it. 
The absolute surrender & faith & hard work every day, sometimes 24 hours a day that is mothering.




Now I think everyday should be Mother's Day. 
That every day is.

When I was in labor birthing my son, it got to that most intense place. 
The part of labor where you are readying yourself to full openness to birth new life.
Surrender & Faith & Hardwork
It's a beautiful thing, childbirth.

But at that moment, beauty was definitely not the thought crossing my mind.
In that moment of disbelief of intensity-nearly-unbearable,  
it came to me. 
For it is when we feel our weakness, that we becomes strongest.
We look beyond ourselves to what is greater.
We become closest to the Divine.

At this moment divinity came to me in the form of a math equation.
Simple probability. 
It went like this.
If all the people in the world are born. 
And many, or even most, humans are born this way. 
So, every second of every day people are being born.
And every second of every day women are doing this very thing I am doing right now.
And if those women are strong enough, 
then I am too.
It certainly wasn't about personal strength & courage, 
for in that moment I had very little .
It was just probability.
The intensity persisted; my state of mind shifted.

I felt supported in a big energetic embrace from all the mothers of humanity.
A deep strength from all the women of the world surrounding me and guiding me through.
Swung me in a big hammock of universal love.
Took my hand and brought me to the other side.

If I were going to make a card for you,
that my dears, would be my wish for you this Mother Day.
The teachings of birth and mothering.

May you know that in your weakest moments you are strongest.
May you connect to the goodness of the world, as you see it.
To the collective conscious of a united humanity.
To strength in Faith. Surrender. Hard work.
May you receive the power to change your reality by shifting your mind.
May you know the unconditional love of mothers everywhere, 
even if Mother's Day is a void full of loss.
May you fill the space with dreams & visions.
May this honor of creation within be with you every day.
For everyday is Mother's Day.

xo,
Megan