Preparing to blog Eliana’s newborn photography session I knew I wanted to write about babies and happiness.  This portrait was so soulful I knew I wanted to feature it on the blog.  So I did some searching online for what others had to say about happiness, since that is most assuredly the emotion on display between this baby’s mother and father.  Writing a blog post is not so far removed from writing an old high school essay for me.  I like to do my homework.  Anyway to put a long story short, my “research” surprised me.  According to the experts, polls, surveys and studies completed by all sorts of honorable professionals; babies do not bring you happiness.  Well…I was shocked.  And as I read my heart started to sag a little until after reading just too much, with my heart down in my stomach, I called it quits.  The ext day I revisited the idea.  I started with the definition of happiness:

happiness:  state of well-being characterize by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy

So I know that there are a whole lot of feelings we experience as parent that don’t even come close to falling in between contentment and intense joy.  There are absolutely feelings that can not in any way shape or form be squeezed into the definition of happiness.  But can’t we still experience all those other less pleasant realities of parenthood and still be happy?  As I have thought about it I have begun to wonder if we get so burdened down with all that other stuff that we forget to be happy.

That thought right there makes me so HAPPY to do what I do.  To capture moments between a Mom and a Dad and their brand new little soul when they are lost in the happiest of moments.  There are no moments in life more deeply, soulfully happy then holding a brand new tiny daughter in your arms!!!!  Look at the happiness radiating from their eyes, from every single smile line on the faces, the happiness that shows itself in the way they are holding each other.  I want this portrait to be up on their walls, somewhere will they will see it every day.  So that when they are cleaning up mess after mess, weighed down with the thoughts of what to prepare for diner or how to pay the next bill, when they haven’t heard “I love you” for way to long a stretch…that they will see themselves and be reminded where happiness lies.  Happiness is holding your brand new baby in your arms and looking at your spouse in utter amazement and joy at the little miracle you created together.

So *phish* to all those humbugs that think that babies don’t bring happiness.  Apparently they haven’t held a baby lately!