A few years back, I was setting up a backdrop when I overheard a five-year-old trying hard to convince his mom to let him go to a friend’s house.
She gently said, “I’m sorry, honey. I just don’t feel comfortable with that right now unless I’m there too.”
His little voice replied, “But Mom, you went out to your car earlier and left me with Kerri. And you’ve been sitting out here the whole time, you can’t even see me in the other room.” (This was back when my sitting area was separate from where I photographed.)
She pulled him in close and said, “I trust Kerri. I know she’d never let anything happen to you. She’d protect you.”
We weren’t “friends” in the traditional sense. We didn’t hang out or talk outside the studio. It was mostly professional, but with a personal feel too.
Mom, I don’t know if you remember saying that, but it’s stuck with me ever since.
That kind of trust is the biggest compliment I could ever be given. I’ve heard it from other parents too, and every single time, it turns my heart into a puddle. I care about your babies more than I can put into words.
