I am a planner. I am type A. I am organized, structured, and planned. I do like surprises and spontaneous adventures. But, this adventure may have been a little too spontaneous....
I planned about 6 months in advance as usual to have my family's annual photos taken on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway at peak leaf color time. It was to be a sunset shoot in the glowing amber sky and crests of the beautiful Black Balsam Knob. Black Balsam is a trail Anna Bargeron, my dear friend and also family photographer, have hiked many a time with our little ones. I know it like the back of my hand. I don't even need GPS to get to it.
We were set to meet at 5 at the trailhead and hike in for our photos.
Then things started adding up, little by little. And all we can do NOW is laugh our fannies off! But in the moment, to a Type A planned woman, it felt like sheer catastrophe was beginning. It started like this:
An hour away from home..."Eric, I forgot my trail boots! I'm in my fancy boots! Can't hike in these! I guess I'll hike in barefoot." Y'all when I told Anna, she was all set to take her own dang shoes off to allow me to hike up the rocky trail. This girl. She is golden. Of course I declined. We kept driving to our destination.
A 2 hour drive with a toddler near supper and bed time is like a little ticking time bomb. All mothers know this to be true. She remained happy for the drive. Good. Hair in place, no red crying face. Happy Baby. Check!
We begin to exit to the Blue Ridge Parkway. When going to Black Balsam, it is almost immediately on your left once you enter the parkway... I got all those jittery excited butterflies because we turned on to the parkway, we were about to park, and then.... PLOT TWIST!!!
There were two highway patrolmen. The gates were closed. Cars were being turned away. Black Balsam was beyond its capacity. My heart stopped. What to do?! And where would Anna be now?
We pulled off to the first lookout point nearest where we turned away, just a few feet down the road. No cell service. I try to text Anna...DENIED. Anna calls me....STATIC. I don't know where she is, she doesn't know where I am. The sun will go down soon. The day is running out. Where can we go if she does find us? It's 10 degrees cooler outside than my forecast read. And that means its 45F. When it was mid 70s down the mountain. I begin to pray. My throat is closing in. Eric prays over the family in the car. I have now a full on panic attack. Can't get a deep breath, and I'm working so hard not to cry. I know it's "just photos, chill." But guys I can't. I have severe severe severe anxiety and currently on no medication because....things. So, change and unplanned things that are not positive really make me panic. I can't even focus to pray. So Eric took over, held my hand and prayed. All I could think was, we planned this for 6 months. I switched our outfits and planned them over and over to get them just as I wanted them. We can't do this again because neither us nor Anna would be available again for a while because she is an awesome booked photographer. The sun was going down and we had no place to go and couldn't find our woman. Drove 2 hours. All my time, energy, detailed work was about to wash away in a matter of minutes. It stressed me out. Because, it is important to me.
Eric finally got a text to go out to Anna and a hallelujah choir rang out in the beams of sunshine peaking over the mountain crest as Anna and her family whipped in to the lot in their mini van and out jumped Anna, the superhero photographer. She held my hand, spoke soothing and calm encouraging words to me. Then we followed her about a mile down to a lookout where we improvised for the photos.
Now we have Anna, we have a location, and we also now have....a cranky toddler. Yup. Y'all know what I'm talking about. She was mad because she was sleepy, hungry, and worst of all cold. She had on Mary Janes. They were new and glittery. I begged her to let me change her into boots so her feet would have more warmth. No. Of course not. She wouldn't let us put her down. She wouldn't smile. She wouldn't cooperate. Now I'm barely keeping it together and Eric?....Eric is just such a happy going laid back man (PRAISE GOD for him!) that he is laughing and smiling and like, this is life! He and Anna somehow...somehow I don't know, got her to smile and interact. She still wouldn't let us put her down because apparently now, besides being cold, her new shoes worn the night before, gave her blisters and she doesn't won't to walk. Totally get it. But she still wouldn't change into her cozy warm boots. So our options for photo poses seemed limited, but again, Anna made a way to throw in variety and fun.
We are finally loosened up a good bit and actually all laughing and embracing this moment God gave us when I go to step over the guard rail....my toes are frozen. I can't feel them, so when I step my foot over, I can't feel my footing and I fall and trip into the metal guard rail with my other leg, banging it twice, never falling down, yet landing in Anna's arms. Superhero. My entire lower left leg...the ENTIRE thing was swollen like a goose egg and immediately began to bruise. By the end of the night the entire leg was purple and black. And to this day over two weeks later, is still healing. I bruise so easy with my cardiovascular make-up. This looked like somebody beat my leg with a baseball bat repetitively. We kept moving and laughing now, though! Then, Anna's daughter Bethany and son Braxton even tried to help make Ellie smile. Ellie would only smile if she was held. Sat her down once more time and got this great shot when she just refused. The look on my face says it all and I kinda love the photo because it is so real. It just shows how it is sometimes. But I can also say, all the other photos are also real. We really did find a way to laugh and remember our joy is in God and our love in Him and one another, not in just a perfect moment in time. This moment was far from perfect and yet there was still joy and love to have.
At the end of the session, we sat Ellie in the warm car and Anna snagged me and Eric for our lovey dovey photos and we just got so flirty and silly and Eric made me laugh so hard that it was the BEST way to wrap up this whirlwind session.
If it hadn't been for my peaceful loving husband and the firey, tenacious, God fearing, praising, loving, faithful faith of Anna B., this day and these photos (which are SO important to me) would not be as wonderful as they are. Anna ALWAYS comes through for us. The first time we ever used her, she swooped in to save the day when our then photographer cancelled my session less than a week away after having it planned again for 6 months, because she "forgot she had purchased tickets to the Dabo women's clinic." So she just chose to serve herself instead of her long planned commitment and service to her clients. I texted up Anna B., less than a week's notice...BOOM she came through for us so super last minute. She and her camera showed up and showed out and have been by my family ever since. Sometimes God removes other things from your life to give you what you really want and need and Anna was just the ticket!! A dear friend and a wonderful photographer whose photos adorn my walls and tables.
She will literally give you the shoes off her feet. That's the kind of friend and hard worker she is. And I so love and adore her. Thank you, Anna, for embracing things in such a Godly way and praying over our family and seeking to serve others so well. The Holy Spirit shines through you!
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