17/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

Little friends and toy trains in the dappled afternoon light.

16/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

Tiny toes sinking into sand at the beach.

15/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

Sweet little fawn in the back seat.

14/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week*, in 2014.

Spots, stripes, green. Even the weeds look beautiful in their emerald vibrancy. We can't help but be happy.

*Except for last week - M and I were both dreadfully sick for an unusually long time, and we were having a miserable time of it. Suffice to say, both the inclination to post and any photos fit for posting were very much absent.

But this week, while still not fully recovered, we are feeling significantly better. We have managed to leave the house for some of the first times in weeks, and boy does it feel good. Recent rain has caused everything to bloom; the air is slightly cooler and there seems to be new life in our surroundings, and indeed in ourselves. 

12/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

A girl and her pig.

11/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

No trip to the park is complete without playing with the bubbler - little drinking, lots of splashing.

10/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

"Hiiiiiii........ hiiiiiiiiii............. Bye". Standard phone convo.

9/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

She sure knows how to rock a cheongsam.

8/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

An accidental shot of a fleeting sideways glance that somehow perfectly captures her cheeky, inquisitive personality.

7/52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014.

That look when she is just on the brink of sleep...

This week's portrait, unlike the ones so far, was difficult to select as there were barely any to choose from (and none from my SLR). Certainly, this has been reflective of my mood this week - uninspired, languid, unfocused. Perhaps it was the ordinary weather, perhaps not. I have never felt that it was so keenly important to bring my very best, in spite of whatever mood I may be in, to any domain in my life than parenting. On days when I simply lack the capacity to be creative, energetic, inspiring, I feel terrible pangs of guilt as I see how this manifests - more whinging and tantrums, more frustration, more mess and chaos throughout the house, that awful feeling of just wanting the day to be over so not making any effort to make the best of the present... It can be really emotionally draining.

But this week, the weather forecast is looking up. I've caught up on sleep this weekend and feeling a renewed energy and enthusiasm. Tomorrow is a new day, and a new week.

I ended up choosing this photo because it wasn't one that I remembered taking until I saw it, but it captures such a beautiful and fleeting moment in time that serves to remind me, this too shall pass...