Embracing Change: A Mom’s Journey Through Transition

Lately, I have found myself thinking about something I never really prepared for.

Our girls are growing up. Truly growing up. My youngest is a junior right now. She is heading into her senior year for the Class of 2027. My oldest is already in her second year of college. Some days it still surprises me how quickly we arrived here.

When our oldest left for college, I remember how strange the adjustment felt at first. The house felt different. Our routines shifted. Mark and I found ourselves figuring out what normal even looked like again. But slowly, we settled into a new rhythm. And now, we truly love when she comes home. Those visits feel extra special in a way I never expected.

And now here we are again, standing at the edge of another transition.

For so many years, our lives have revolved around raising them. Around carpools and calendars. Around gym floors and sidelines. At team dinners. There were long days that somehow felt both exhausting and incredibly full. I didn’t realize that our rhythm was built so much around those moments. I started noticing how quickly they are changing.

There is a part of me that feels proud watching them become who they are meant to be. Independent. Confident. Strong. Another part of me feels the ache. I know this season is coming to an end.

What surprises me most is how both feelings can live side by side. Gratitude and sadness. Excitement and uncertainty. Pride and a little bit of fear.

Mark and I talk about it more now. About what our days will look like when there are no games on the calendar. No practices to plan around. No early mornings or late nights in the stands. For years, we have poured so much of ourselves into showing up for them. And we would do it all over again without hesitation.

But now we find ourselves wondering what comes next.

We talk about volunteering more at church. About traveling without a packed car or a tight schedule. About finding new routines that belong just to us. About rediscovering parts of life that moved to the background while we were busy raising our girls.

And through all of it, I keep coming back to faith.

I truly believe God prepares us for every season we walk through, even the ones that feel unfamiliar. The same faith carried us through the busy years of raising our girls. That faith will also carry us into what comes next. There is comfort in trusting that this transition is not an ending, but part of a bigger plan.

If I am being honest, I think this is part of why senior year means so much to me.

Photographing seniors has never just been about the photos. It has always been about the moment families are standing in. The pride. The emotions. The realization that time really does move faster than you expect. Every time I photograph a senior, I see both sides of it. The excitement of what’s ahead and the tenderness of what is changing.

As a mom, I feel it even more now.

I know we are not the only parents standing in this in-between season. The one where you are cheering them on while realizing things are shifting for you, too. And while I don’t have all the answers yet, I do know this. I am deeply grateful for every single year that brought us here.

We are not losing this season. We are growing into the next one.

I trust the same God who guided us through raising them. He will guide us through learning how to let go.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. -Ecclesiastes 3:1