Tears

I was torn as to whether I should really blog the following.

It was something personal for myself and my daughter today, and her sadness was just so overwhelming.

To begin with I did not photograph her to capture this misery, but I did so to show her afterwards what another person made her feel - if that makes sense.

For a long time my daughter, who is 7, has wanted to change her first name. It started about 2 years ago, and I do not know what the trigger was, but suddenly she preferred 'Chloe' to her actual name. Her own name is original, and beautiful, and totally her. I also chose it after much debate with my husband (so much so that it was only 2 weeks after her birth, when we were standing at the registrar office on the last legal day we had to name her, that I won!) - so she is keeping it!

Anyway cut to today's drama - someone had rhymed her last name this time (usually it is her first) with a different name, and was now calling her Chameleon. She seemed distraught that this was some kind of horrible thing. I explained to her what a Chameleon was and she seemed better.

However the tears had started - so now it was no one was her friend; she told me a story of what happened at Gym where she was left out; something about how I love her brother more; how she fell into a table today and now her back was sore - I swear through the tears I caught 11 different stories of sadness that happened to her today.

So I told her that I was going to take her photo and she was going to see the sadness someone had made her feel, and that she should look at this and think I am not going to let someone make me cry again.

I sure hope it helps - 7 is only the beginning, I have the teens to look forward to people!

After the tears, we took a photo of her looking strong - I like this one much better of my little Chameleon.

All of my images are © Leah Donaldson Photography and are not to be downloaded, copied, printed or used without my written permission.