There is something pretty special about sending your kids off to school for the first time in a brand-new building.
This week is back to school for us, but this year looks a little different. Our kids are walking through the doors of a school that, not very long ago, was just an idea. Plans on paper. Meetings. Decisions. A whole lot of work that most of us never saw.
And I have the privilege of photographing the first day.
That, in and of itself, is incredibly exciting to me. There is something about being there at the very beginning of a new chapter and getting to document the people, the little moments, the excitement, the nerves, and all the things that will become memories before we even realize it.
But I think what makes it especially meaningful is knowing how many people worked to make this dream a reality.
A building like this doesn't just happen. It takes vision, patience, hard work, persistence, and a whole lot of people believing that something better is worth building. I am genuinely proud of the people who made this happen, and I feel pretty lucky that I get to document the beginning.
And, if I am being honest, standing inside a brand-new building has me thinking about my own.
Our new Roadhouse studio is coming.
I have spent so much time imagining what that space will become. I have watched the ground change, the walls go up, and the building slowly start to look like the thing that has lived in my head for so long.
There is something different about seeing a dream take shape in front of you.
It makes the anticipation feel very real.
Someday soon, I will unlock those doors for the first time. There will be a mama standing in front of me with her babies, and we will make the very first memories inside a space that I built for this exact purpose.
I cannot wait.
For now, though, I get to stand on the other side of the camera and document someone else's brand-new beginning.
And I think that is a pretty wonderful way to start the school year.
