Well, here we are on week whatever of social distancing. It's been 72 days since my husband went to his office. 72 days of us all being home together, almost all the time. It's been 75 days since C got to go to school (but luckily we had 1 week "off" before remote learning started... so only 66 days of remote learning (and only 13 days to go, if I have the last day of school in my calendar correctly - not that I'm counting or anything).
While the state of Massachusetts is slowly reopening, we're trying to be cautiously optimistic about what the summer will be like. I now have the green light to start taking clients (with new safety procedures). We've heard that summer camps may open, but with serious restrictions and guidelines (which means C won't be attending camp this summer). Our normal campground that we stay at every year is open, but also with serious restrictions (no playground, no pools, no normal facilities), which means we likely won't be able to do that much this summer. My kids will turn 1 and 5 this summer and it's likely we won't get to have our normal birthday bash for them, but we will figure out how to make their day special. It's hard being home all the time, it's hard entertaining my kiddos all day every day and hard to stay motivated in these uncertain times.
One thing I did to keep myself busy and motivated was start a #FrontStepsProject, which has been SO fun and has been a huge help to the Holliston Pantry Shelf (https://www.hollistonpantryshelf.org/). I learned about the #FrontStepsProject from another photographer, the project was started by Cara Soulia Photography who thought of this project as a way to keep connected with the community, while still maintaining social distancing (see this link for more info on the project https://www.thefrontstepsproject.com/).
The idea behind the project is to come as you are - no need to get dressed up (unless, of course, you want to) and just come to your front steps and take a quick family photo - there is no payment due to me for the photo, just a request that you make a good faith donation to the Holliston Pantry Shelf. You get a digital image of your family (to help remember this weird time in our lives) and the food pantry receives help from the community at a time they really need it.
This project has literally kept me sane over the past few months - it's given me a way to keep busy (with something for myself, not busy with my kids) and it's allowed me to stay connected with so many members of my community. I honestly wasn't sure what would happen when I announced the project - but I should have known the Holliston community would step up to support the Holliston Pantry Shelf. The immediate response was wild - I couldn't even keep up with messages and scheduling everyone! At this point I've photographed more than 50 families on their front steps, collected SO much food for the food pantry and over $600 in cash donations for the food pantry!
All of these quick sessions have been done using proper social distancing guidelines and I am never closer than 10 feet to the families I'm photographing. I still have some availability for the project, if you're interested in participating, please reach out!
Sending a HUGE thank you to all of the families who have participated in this project! You can see all of those wonderful people in the photos below <3
Thanks for stopping by!
~so~